General Hack Ideas

[FullOfFail]

I find squishy's idea of making Samus a space pirate really intriguing. Though I'm wondering how you would manage to make the beams shoot out of her eyes (Which would be a neat feature all by itself). I know Zero Mission has some crawling pirates sprites, you might want to rip those and modify them.

For my hack, Since I've expanded Ceres so much, I had the idea of changing an enemy sprite into a scientist and make him invulnerable. Like he's walking aroiund, but can't really do much. If I could, it'd be neat to have a message box pop up when you cross them, or shoot them or something. That way I can make it look like they're talking, give the game some dialogue. However I know that'd be some crazy coding that I simply couldn't do. I havent really seen a enemy sprite that fits that figure like a want though. I've considered using the space pirates, but I want to keep those. The "NDRA" from Norfair might work for it though. You know, those one dragon looking enemies that jump out of the lava and spit stuff at you.

Also, I've considered making text on every map giving you details about the area and subtle hints about the items that are in them. Like they're past Chrozo logs, like in prime. This would be a way to give the game some plot besides the intro. This idea would be borrowed from Eris, I personally found that to be ingenious. Along with the objects I'll be making on the map (the pyramid for example) I think it would compliment it well.

Most of my ideas come to me while I'm dreaming, but unfortunately I forget my dreams 5 minutes later so none of them stick. I need to start writing them down as soon as I wake up.

[personitis]

FoF: Jotting them down defenatly helps. =P As for an enemy that could work for a scientist, how about those walking robots that can be found in the Wrecked Ship? Sure they're a little thick but a little fiddling with the DNA height/width wise plus some messing with the GFX sould get you the desired size. Best part is, they walk and don't hurt you... but when shot they do stumble backwards. /suggestion

[FullOfFail]

As for an enemy that could work for a scientist, how about those walking robots that can be found in the Wrecked Ship? Sure they're a little thick but a little fiddling with the DNA height/width wise plus some messing with the GFX sould get you the desired size. Best part is, they walk and don't hurt you... but when shot they do stumble backwards. /suggestion

I would if I could, but ceres never wakes up, so I dont think those would activate. You dont fight ridley in the beginning. I'm going to make the WreckedShip a space pirate HQ, not any type of lab, so that sorta kills it too. I wasnt aware that you could mess with the height and width of an enemy, I definitely need to play with that, I'd prefer them to be Samus's height.

[personitis]

I just don't think you can expand there size bigger than it already is with out some intense know how. Then again, I need to start break my ROMs much more often since I'm planning two major hacks. <_<

[Scyzer]

I just don't think you can expand there size bigger than it already is with out some intense know how. Then again, I need to start break my ROMs much more often since I'm planning two major hacks. <_<

If you want to make enemies bigger, you have to edit the tilemaps to include more GFX, that's pretty much it. The robots are bigger than Samus though, so I don't know why you'd want to make them bigger, unless you're making giant scientists?

As for the coding that runs to bring up a text box, probably wouldn't be too hard. You can just use enemy_touch or enemy_shot pointers and point to new code.

[Nu Zalem]

I had conjured up these ideas up long before joining up Metconst, but I'll re-iterate them here. My main "idea" is to attempt to tweak the AI of the space pirates since they'll be one of the main focuses of my particular rom hack. This of course will require assembly (which I've just started to learn and it will take some time for me to grasp everything). I want to make them as agile and formidable as a fully equipped Samus would be. Why? To make them a challenge without forcing the players to confront them in small tight spaces (because that's no fun at all). The ninja space pirates also fall into this obviously.

Their current abilities are the following: Firing forward, blocking, jumping huge distances, diagonal jump kick, front kick on the ground, scaling walls, firing while being on the wall

I would like to give them a few new abilities once I get proficient with ASM and the following is just a short list of what I want to do with them: being able to fire in multiple directions, being able to see players if they crouch/morph into ball in front of them, being able to crawl, being able to run, being able to fire charged shots, give them reflector properties (in other words, they'll be able to reflect shots fired at them randomly).

I figure those amplifications will make them a bit more formidable. More importantly, I'm hoping that I can not only make formidable pirates, but intelligent pirates. These scum are what the universe fears, unfortunately their SM incarnations are quite feeble. I also plan to redraw these guys...will be showing that off when I'm done with that. My next idea is concerning the bosses. Right now I'll be redrawing them into something different and giving them a new move or two such as Kraid ramming you into the wall or spitting acid/fire...something other than just sit there and take missiles to the mouth (O already have a sketch of what I want to do with Spore Spawn). As for Samus herself...I've tweaked the physics a bit so she'll move much faster than normal (still tweaking them though as she currently gets stuck in the ground). I want to give her charging abilities some "levels" as in Lvl1 charge shot andLvl2 charge. The higher the charge the more pow you'll get when you dish it onto your enemies. That's all for now and thanks for taking the time to read this long post.

[Scyzer]

Giving space pirates the reflec ability would be easy.

In bank $B2, find free space, and put this here: (at bottom), then change the pointer for the space pirates' Shot_AI to the location of that code.

Code:
AD E5 05 29 0F 00 C9 08* 00 30 03 4C 79 87 5C 1C DC A3

*Change this value to change the chance of the enemy reflecting the shot. Lower value means less chance. $08 is 50%, $0F is 93%.

If you're wondering how this works:
LDA $05E5           - load a random number (generated every frame)
AND #$000F         - make all digits except the last one 0
CMP #$0009         - compare the value against #$0008
BMI $03               - if the result is less than, skip ahead 3 bytes
JMP $8779           - if the result is greater than (or equal), then JMP to normal code
JMP $A3DC1C       - if it was less, jump to code for Reflecs


On a side note, this was all done in my head. I haven't tested it, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work. You WILL need to use Kej's patch to fix the Reflec code for bombs, or bombing a pirate will crash it too. This would work with any enemy, but you'll need to change  the location for the first JP to that which runs for the enemy you choose (the shot_AI).


EDIT:
Ok I got bored and tested this out, and for some reason it doesn't work like it should. I have no idea why, as I've checked, and the code that runs for the reflect is running fine, but it's not reflecting the shot at all. It's just acting like a normal hit. There's possibly something in the hit code for the reflect that determines what enemy type it is, and changes the effects based on the result (similar to space pirates and fighter pirates, they both use the same shot_ai, which checks what enemy it is first). I haven't looked into it, but I was able to produce normal pirates that sometimes reflected shots by using fighter pirates and changing their initiation code to that of a normal pirate (that pointer is what makes them move and attack like a fighter pirate).

I'll leave this here, in case Jathys or Kej has any idea about Reflec code and knows why it doesn't work on other enemies.

[Nu Zalem]

Cool beans Sadiztyk.

[MelanyKoura]

Oh my, a hack idea thread. :o Well since it's here... guess I'll unload an idea. :D

An idea for a Super Metroid hack occurred to me about... oh five seconds ago. xD Said idea is that you start either on the surface or just below the surface of Zebes. From the starting point you can go left or right and find doors on either side. Not all that interesting yet? Probably not. But here's where it might get a little interesting.

Once you pass through one of the doors, it closes and LOCKS BEHIND YOU. Why you may ask? Because you've just chosen one of two paths (at least from the beginning) and begun your descent down into the core of Zebes. As you proceed downward you gain the upgrades you normally would in Super Metroid and use them to descend further into the planet.

At certain points the paths will converge for major power-ups (and possibly bosses). And then split into even more paths. Of course, with locking people into the paths they choose it could essentially prevent players from obtaining 100% items (perfectionists will probably hate that fact).

Then at the end you have your standard battle with Mother Brain and escape. How exactly such a LONG escape might be handled, I'm not sure.

I guess it's a simple restructure of what you already do in the game... but hey, a different spin can turn out pretty well, right?


And yes, I would do this myself but I have nowhere near any talent for this. All I've done is just tinker with a couple Crateria rooms while I was bored. I have little talent for any real rom hacking, I'll admit that now. But as I've been told by friends, I can usually come up with good ideas given enough time. I just (unfortunately) cannot execute them.

[FullOfFail]

MelanyKoura, that's basically what I'm doing now for my mini-hack. Except you arent really going to the core or anything, just choosing different routes. There is no going back, once you get to a certain point a permi-locked door will close. It's more like levels than exploring that way. I'm removing the map so it doesnt go all apeshit everytime I link multiple doors to one room.

[MelanyKoura]

Oh, okay. :X Well, go figure. That sounds better in method than mine does. Good luck with it!

And I'm sorry for mentioning an already used idea. ^^; To be honest I haven't looked at many of the threads under Super Metroid yet. Speaking of which, I might want to do that for future reference.

[FullOfFail]

Ohh, I'm not trying to discourage you or anything, feel free to pursue that idea all you want. I was just letting you know that I was doing something similar. What you're planning to do seems different enough, it's not like anybody would connect ours together.

Here's a vid I made about connecting various rooms if you don't know how to do it yet:
[spoiler]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fvy_bScRjo[/spoiler]

Please by all means feel free to make your hack. :)

[MelanyKoura]

Oh hahaha, I would do it if I could. Like I said though, I don't really have the talent for it. That and if it came down to it, I wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of the coding or be able to hex edit. My brain would sorta sputter before shooting out sparks. XD

Anything I do would just be me messing around with the basic rooms in the game... but I guess that's how it all starts out right?

In the end I feel more useful for concepts and ideas than actually executing them. xD Maybe I'll produce something (if I ever get interested enough once more) but I'm fairly sure it won't be anything above mediocre. I suppose I'll just be here to browse, lend moral support, and maybe make a suggestion or two.

And by the way, thanks for the video. If I do get back into editing that rom I have I'll look into the doors. I think I had it figured out initially but I have no memory of it anymore.

[personitis]

And yes, I would do this myself but I have nowhere near any talent for this. All I've done is just tinker with a couple Crateria rooms while I was bored. I have little talent for any real rom hacking, I'll admit that now. But as I've been told by friends, I can usually come up with good ideas given enough time. I just (unfortunately) cannot execute them.

I'm not trying to come off rude or anything, but if you want, I'll take up the task and make your idea a reality. I've been looking for a little something to get back into using SMILE anyway. =) It's your idea, your decision.

[MelanyKoura]

If you want, I don't mind. The idea in itself is just a hollow shell. Personally I like the idea of seeing what someone else can drum up inside the shell. And plus if you need a tester, I'll totally volunteer.

[personitis]

Cool, I'll take it up then. ^_^ I need something to work with other tile sets and experiment anyway.

[Zhs2]

Bumping a sticky for epic win.

Redrawing Samus into another character entirely, and then making a hack to revolve around that character.

[personitis]

Bumping a sticky for epic win pain.

That's quite a task if anyone took that up. o.O The only hack I know to do it is the Justin Bailey one.

[Zhs2]

In my mind, it sounds easier than it probably is. Using Auximines' hack as a visual guide to aligning everything would be a definite step, as well as possibly bothering my fellow ram mappers for values and things to offset shooting heights so that the origins of the shots match up with the gun no matter how the character is drawn. :)

I will totally go for it one of these days if I can remember to do it.

[FullOfFail]

This is automated metriod. If you ever seen the automated mario video on youtube then you should understand what I'm trying to do.

Hey, why not?!?!

[spoiler]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11s9BwM4NbU[/spoiler]

[MelanyKoura]

Wow... that looks really cool. o_O

And yay for returning after being sick! \o/

Anyway, that small underwater segment made me wonder something.... In any Metroid game that has water in it, they have a water area. However, we always seem to be IN the water. I can't help but think... why not an underwater lab? I think it'd be cool if done right. xD Then again I love water as an element so I'm sorta biased. x3

And since I don't wana double post...

Am I the only one that was bothered by the way Charge, "Wide," and Wave beams looked in Metroid Fusion? I mean... I dunno, Charge Beam really shouldn't look any different than the default shot you start out with. I thought Wide would have been better as "Spazer" while Wave should have just been the Plasma Beam animation with weaving. o.O Has it struck anyone to change that stuff in Fusion? Or can it even be done? I know it's not a big hack idea, but I think it'd be a nice modification. But that's just my opinion. xD

[zephyrtronium]

In Fusion, the beams are all actually made up of several sprites (starting with Charge), so changing their graphics like that would involve a lot more effort than simply editing the graphics.

[MelanyKoura]

Yeah, I unfortunately noticed that in a recent play through of the game. Isn't Charge made up of at least three parts? Heck if I can guess how many Wide is made of... I'd have to play with the beam and see.


And since I don't wana double post and I highly doubt changing one room really constitutes its own topic (plus I'm not sure where it fits elsewhere)... I'll use this post instead.

This is something I made on a whim. I was trying to learn a little about SMILE when I first found it and this is the result. Mind you not a really good one (in my opinion anyhow). Not sure what I was going for, to be honest. I think it was supposed to be a more... base-ish feel. I think it's safe to say, no real idea behind this one. If it inspires someone, fantastic. If not, well... could I get a critique on this room? I can already see the problem with the design regarding the top-most parts of the structure as well as parts on the right side. ESPECIALLY the right side.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Lunaria]

GUYS! I JUST GOT THE BEST IDEA EVER!

You have like, EVERY WHERE deal damage to samus ALL the time! Unlike these really really cool small spots in each room that like, restore health instead!
And you like, place fewer of these areas later on in the game when you have more suit upgrades and like more health!

And man like, I checked around and such, and it turns out that this REALLY cool dude name black falcon something made these really cool tiles like coded them and crap that you can use to make JUST this! DAMN!

[gunnargumpert]

i don't know, it is right here, but I'm searching of many ideas.

i want completely change the map, bigger rooms, but that's not enough for hacking.

can a few guys tell me what i all can do? i want use the tiles, they already exist, not changing anything. maybe adding some special tiles but it should look like a normal metroid.

maybe you can open a room in smile, take a solid,  (good visible) block and set the form of the rooms just to see, were to set the tiles, don't work on a ready room and don't set enemies.


i would be thankful.