Anyone Interested in Doing "SMB Special" for NES?

[SMB2J-2Q]

More flaws for you guys to correct:

The last part of World 2-3 (the goal), the dark area, is supposed to play the ground-level music (as usual), despite the graphics there looking like underground. Looks like there's more code you should do in your expansion to meet this demand.

Also: In the coin bonus rooms in Worlds 1-4 and 2-2, Mario is supposed to drop down from the top. Additionally, when he exits the coin bonus room of 2-2, he is supposed to emerge from the topmost pipe upon returning to the water level.

The bonus pipe in World 4-3's sky bonus (underground graphics)... I cannot go down it.

~Ben

[Karatorian]

The improper height of the pipe exits is a known issue an is caused by the limitations of the SMB engine. While it's on the list of needed ASM hacks, it's not as high a priority as adding the enemies and power ups.

As far as can be determined from the original level data in SMBS, 4-3 cannot be exited. Neither of the two pipes present in the area are marked as exitable. However, the pipe connection data for the level seems to indicate that it should have been. (It's little issues like these that make me wonder if the ROM circulating on the net is the final version, or some dev version.)

[frantik]

More flaws for you guys to correct:

The last part of World 2-3 (the goal), the dark area, is supposed to play the ground-level music (as usual), despite the graphics there looking like underground. Looks like there's more code you should do in your expansion to meet this demand.

Also: In the coin bonus rooms in Worlds 1-4 and 2-2, Mario is supposed to drop down from the top. Additionally, when he exits the coin bonus room of 2-2, he is supposed to emerge from the topmost pipe upon returning to the water level.

~Ben

re: music.. not really a priority in any way

pipes in castle levels always make you come out of other pipes in the smb engine. could be changed but it's useful in 4-4 and not a big deal.  in 2-2, sideways pipes also make you come out of pipes instead of falling from the top.  trivial from a gameplay aspect

[generalleoff]

This area is a bit screwed up. If you enter that center pipe it will send you to a short water world. After exiting that water world you will be back on level 5-1 but the counter will still say 5-2. Completing 5-1 again will send you to normal 5-3.

[frantik]

the pipes should be lower.. not sure why they aren't.  is that image from the world 5 rom or the expanded rom?  if from the expanded Karatorian you put the updated pipe code in (the one with the one bug removed) right?

fixed the one pipe in the middle which should not be enterable

Download Worlds 5 and 6

will put out an updated worlds 1-4 soon

[generalleoff]

It's from the corrected expanded ROM patch that was just posted.

[edit]



Screwed up castle.



Screwed up piranha



This is as far as I can get. Imposable to make that jump.

Also I have been noting many instances of clouds, trees, hills, and other background titles that are missing tiles. I am not going to point them all out at this stage. But I am wondering if they are like that in the original? I kinda doubt they are supposed to be that way. I also highly doubt the available dumps of those discs are in the best of shape. I'm not sure f they are bad dumps or good dumps of bad discs but some of that stuff seems to be caused by corruption in some way or another. Attempting to get hold of fresh dumps would probably be a good idea.

[edit2]

Regarding the 6-3 imposable jump. It is related to the pipes you can go down near that area. If you do not go down those pipes the falling platform will be there allowing you to continue the level. Use the pipes and the platform will be gone.

[SMB2J-2Q]

It's from the corrected expanded ROM patch that was just posted.

[edit]



Screwed up castle.



Screwed up piranha



This is as far as I can get. Imposable to make that jump.

Also I have been noting many instances of clouds, trees, hills, and other background titles that are missing tiles. I am not going to point them all out at this stage. But I am wondering if they are like that in the original? I kinda doubt they are supposed to be that way. I also highly doubt the available dumps of those discs are in the best of shape. I'm not sure f they are bad dumps or good dumps of bad discs but some of that stuff seems to be caused by corruption in some way or another. Attempting to get hold of fresh dumps would probably be a good idea.

When I use the expanded ROM, all I get is a screwed-up title screen when I re-patch (I think I'm supposed to get an already-expanded SMB ROM and then patch the smbspecial_world6.IPS onto it). What do I do?

[generalleoff]

I patched world 6 on a clean normal ROM.

[SMB2J-2Q]

I patched world 6 on a clean normal ROM.

Apparently, so did I...

~Ben (SMB2J-2Q)

[frantik]

updated world 6 patch.. the platform didn't show up if you went into the pipe bonus room cause the platform was on the 1st screen when you come back out of the pipe

Download world 5 and 6

patch onto an original smb rom

Also I have been noting many instances of clouds, trees, hills, and other background titles that are missing tiles.

do you mean in the NES version?  yes it's due to the way the background is drawn.  ionce everything else is done i will go back and clean those up too.. i've cleaned up most ones except ones near holes in the ground.  to hide them it usually costs two objects so it's easier to wait till everything else is done first

[generalleoff]

I haven't played with he PC88 emulators in a while. I was wondering if those are in SMBS and being you are gong for as close to a 1:1 port as possible I was wondering if you where intentionally leaving clouds and other background objects with missing titles. If there are cases in SMBS with missing tiles I was suggesting that they might be caused by a bad dump or a corrupted disc. I know other stuff was corrupted and recently fixed. In this case you probably should not duplicate them so closely. It's not an issue that should be worried about right now though. I was just curios is all.

Now to go play with the new patch.

[edit]

Oh I forgot. When you do these patches with warp zones that skip ahead in levels like the world 5 and 6 patch if it's not to much trouble could you add power ups before the warp pipe. It makes testing the map harder if you have to go into an advanced world as small Mario.

[frantik]

if it's not to much trouble could you add power ups before the warp pipe

who's to say there isn't already some goodies before the warp pipe? 

you might just want to use some game genie codes or other cheats.  setting $0756 to 01 will make mario invincible.. though he will alternate between big and small haha.  if you set $0754 to 0 he will be big all the time

but there's a mushroom pretty early in 5-1 in the row of ? blocks.. it's not too hard to get to

[generalleoff]

I found the 6 1-ups if thats what you are referring to.

[Karatorian]

In regards to the pipe code, the expanded ROM still has the original version from the worlds 1-4 ROM. I had gotten it to assemble before you posted your version, and I've yet to update the code. Now that you've released world 6, I guess I'll be making a new version of the expanded ROM, so I'll update the pipe code as well.

Edit:

An expanded world 6 rom has been made. You can get the patch here. Also included in this version is frantik's refactored version of the inverted pipe hack. Please cross reference any bugs found against the approprate unexpanded ROM. Thanks and enjoy.

[frantik]

just play tested it and everything seems to be working fine except upside down pipe #2.. let me double check the code

edit:  i see whats up.. my optimized code will still work but it's slightly different from what i've got in the worlds 5-6 patch.  I will modify my world 5+ to have the right code so the pipes will be the right length

[generalleoff]

From the new 1-6 expanded ROM patch. Though a few of these also exist in the none expanded patches.



This vine grows up the bottom of the screen. (both patches)



The vine goes to this room. You can not exit this room as the pipe does nothing. (both patches)



This got worst.



Watching the piranha come out the opposite end of this pipe upside down is funny.



This suicidal red Koopa is in both patches but in the expanded patch you can no longer make the jump. Now you must use the pipe just before this area to get across.

[frantik]

the room in 4-3 is a trap

upside down pipe issue already mentioned by myself

need to fix 6-3


edit:

updated 5 & 6.  fixed upside down pipes and 6-3's jump

Download 5 & 6

also Karatorian can you change this line in the code:

Code Select Expand

GetHalfway:  ldy HalfwayPageNybbles,x ;get halfway page number with offset

to

Code Select Expand

GetHalfway:  ldy #$00  ;get halfway page number with offset

or set all the halfway page nibbles to zero...

[generalleoff]

See that 4-3 trap thing is really bad level design. If thats rely how it is meant to work then someone over at Hudson needed to be beat down in the parking lot. I would suspect data corruption. Many cases exist in this game where you really can get stuck just for making simple errors like choosing to jump on the wrong platform and several cases exist where the flag pole is so far away from the jump platform that it is imposable to get better then 800 points. But this is the only case I know where it is deliberate. A warp back to 1-1 would be annoying but fine but trapping the player in a small room with nothing to do but let the timer run out is just bad. Unfair game play like that is NOT very Nintendo like... But I guess thats why it's only available on a crappy Japanese computer.

Most of the level design is actually solid, clever and fun and the port yer doing is also solid. Just some stuff from the original really needs to be corrected. I might have to resurrect my own conversion.

[MathUser2929]

See that 4-3 trap thing is really bad level design. If thats rely how it is meant to work then someone over at Hudson needed to be beat down in the parking lot. I would suspect data corruption. Many cases exist in this game where you really can get stuck just for making simple errors like choosing to jump on the wrong platform and several cases exist where the flag pole is so far away from the jump platform that it is imposable to get better then 800 points. But this is the only case I know where it is deliberate. A warp back to 1-1 would be annoying but fine but trapping the player in a small room with nothing to do but let the timer run out is just bad. Unfair game play like that is NOT very Nintendo like... But I guess thats why it's only available on a crappy Japanese computer.

Ever play super mario bros 2? That game is piss hard too, even in the super mario all stars version. Imagine how much worst it is in the original version that didn't have game saves. Also note that the timer moves faster in the msx so the wait isn't as bad as it is in this hack.

[frantik]

See that 4-3 trap thing is really bad level design. If thats rely how it is meant to work then someone over at Hudson needed to be beat down in the parking lot. I would suspect data corruption.

i double checked with Karatorian and it appears to be correct.  also there is no pipe in the appropriate exit location in the whole level, so it would seem it is on purpose.  I think originally it was supposed to not be a trap but it was changed because there is also a 1up on the level which is impossible to get to and it looks like you're supposed to use a pipe to get to it, but the pipe is not in a pipe exit location (2 blocks from the chunk divider)

several cases exist where the flag pole is so far away from the jump platform that it is imposable to get better then 800 points.

yes i noticed that as well.  it makes me wonder about the physics of SMBS.. if mario can jump farther or if it's just being 'mean' lol

Just some stuff from the original really needs to be corrected.

"corrected" is very subjective   we've already had quite a discussion over a bug regarding a sometimes-missing platform in 4-3 lol the trap in 4-3 is not the first trap in the game either so it's not like some fluke imo

Imagine how much worst it is in the original version that didn't have game saves. Also note that the timer moves faster in the msx so the wait isn't as bad as it is in this hack.

plus in SMB2j to see all of the bonus worlds you had to beat the game like 8 times or something lol.  and yeah the timer will be modded in the final version to run faster