Sonic In Mushroom Kingdom

EDIT: I'm back.


Even he can't believe this.


Hello to everyone. I'm STHX and I'll use this topic for posting various informations, images and music taken from my hack, and, when complete of course, the hack itself.

The above image and the one you will see below are taken from the hack I'm working on in this period. This is my very first hack, and after a pair of months of various of tests on the first Sonic, I decided it was time to start a complete hack of Sonic The Hedgehog. But I didn' want to make a palette change-only hack, however I didn't known if I could have handled a more advanced hack, so I never officially released anything. I, however, tried my best, and I started to understand the ASM code of Sonic 1 (Or, as I like to call it, the Sonic engine) by myself, and with the help of the variuous How To Guides in the wiki I improved my knowledge (Not a difficult task, I had 0 programming knowledge, so it wasn't hard to improve. Anything could have been useful at that time), I learned to use various utilities, and finally I decided to give it a try.
But I still didn't know what kind of hack I could have done, or it was like this until I noticed something. No one ever did a full and complete hack that tried to merge the world of Sonic and the one of its bigger rival, Mario. And so, what started as a joke will become my first hack, and I promise I will give my best in the effort of making a good and, most important, a fun hack.
Enough of this introduction, let's talk a little of this hack.


Sonic The Hedgehog In Mushroom Kingdom (or simply Sonic in Mushroom Kingdom) is a complete hack of the first Sonic made using Hivebrain 2005 Disassembly that will feature various things taken from the Mario Universe readapted to fit the Sonic Universe. At this day the hack goals are the follows:
- Complete level art redrawn, all done by me, using mostly readapted Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars version) art, as well as some original work.
- New Level Layouts, made of multiple routes, which goes from the classical platforming style (In Mario style) to a full speed type (What kind of Sonic game would have it be without this?)
- New music, one per act, ported from various XM, some of which rearranged by me, using Xm3smps (Many thanks to Nineko for this amazing tool)
- Various ASM edits,mostly taken from the various guides on the wiki, and others made by me (Well, nothing special, but at least I did something)
- New enemies. The most classic of the Mario enemies will appear in the hack, with a new art to better fill in a Sonic game. And some of them will not be only a simple art change.
- A lot of nostlalgia. Well, maybe this didn't need its own line.

As of today, the hack features:
ASM: Spike Bug fixed (Courtesy of FraGag), Speed Cap removed (Courtesy of Tweaker and Puto), S2 Spindash (Courtesy of Lightning and Puto), SEGA Sound fixed (Courtesy of Puto), Alternate Title Screen (Courtesy of JcFerggy), Different music in different act (Courtesy of Nineko), more frames for Sonic, different Level Order, Level Select Menu adapted to the new level order (Tecnically these are Hex edits, not ASM, but it doesn't matter), some little things that are not wrth mentioning.
Stages: World 1 art 70% complete, level layout 40%. World 2 art 50% complete.
Music: 20% complete.
Enemies: Goomba 100% complete, Bullet Bill 100% complete and functional.


And as for the first update, here are some images taken from the first world, Mushroom Kingdom.
World 1: Mushroom Kingdom



Also thanks to Chimpo for the guide to use SonMapED, Xenowhirl for SonMapEd, and Stealth for SonEd2.
EDIT: Man, how could I forget to mention Qjimbo. Thanks for his Split Dissassembly guides.

 

Lets answer to some F.A.Q before the update.

<!--quoteo(post=200310:date=Jun 15 2008, 12:14 AM:name=HighFrictionZone)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (HighFrictionZone @ Jun 15 2008, 12:14 AM)
Originated from the Buzzbomber. Probably the most similar Koopanik to their direct counterpart since they looked artificial in their games too, these Koopaniks were created with the idea of being a lot more faster than Mario, so to beat him using one of his weak spot, and their speed is so high they could rival even Sonic (For better understanding this, their speed is $600). Unfortunately for them, Sonic too is faster now.
They behave perfectly like a true Bullet Bill. They will appear from the border of the screen and pass from one side to another without stopping. The rocket on their backs is the same rocket of the Buzzbomber, and it helps them to being faster.

Motogoomba:

The cheapest Koopanik ever could only be created from the cheapest badnik ever. The Motogoombas were created with the idea of being resistent to Mario's infamous Jump. But their armor can nothing against the Super Sonic Spin Attack. Also they are very heavy, and so will move very slowly. However they have an improvement, they do not fall in pits anymore.
The fangs and those red things for the air are taken from the Motobug. On a side note, the Motogoombas are more ecologic than the Motobugs.

Other Koopanicks are planned for the hack and they will be posted as I complete them.

EDET: Typo corrected

 

F.A.Q. time.

I'm not truly porting the level designs from Mario games actually. Right, part of the stages will feature areas taken from Super Mario Bros, but they will not be the only part of the stages.
I'll make an example. If we take the lenght of the World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros, and then we compare it to the lenght of Green Hill Zone Act 1, we notice there is absolutely no paragon between them. Both in height and in lenght GHZ completely outclasses World 1-1. Of course you say to copy from SMB 3, but its stages have the same problem. Another possibility is to fuse more levels in one, but that will still be a waste of height. Also, the word speed do not fit well in the classic Mario stages.
That is why I searched for another solution. Did you know that, when you place the End Of Act Signpost in a level, you create a line that occupies a whole column of pixels that can actually make an act end? Basically, this means that with a Signpost I can have even 5 different exits in the same level. Example of this is Spring Yard Zone Act 2, which had 2 exits (It had 2 Signpost too, but it works also without the second Signpost).
I will, of course not put 5 different exits in all stages, but 2 yes. Since Mario level design is not Sonic-like at all, the stages in my hack will feature multiple path in the levels.
Taking the first act of Mushroom Kingdom, the new GHZ from my hack, the stage is divided in 2 main areas. The main area is made of ported level design (After all Sonic will pass trought the same places Mario explored in Super Mario Bros.), with just some minor tweaks here and there, it will be straight linear and it will allow you to finish the stage without much problems. But if you enter one of the stage pipes, you may find the entrance to the secondary area, which instead is formed by original level design, with much more speed and a lot more Sonic looking-like designs. But I'm telling you more. Take a look at the first post, notice anything in the last image? Even if I have more than 50 rings, there is no Big Ring there. This is because you will not be able to enter the Special Stage from the main path, because the Big Rings will appear only in the end of the level of secondary path. Of course, it will not be always easy to find the secondary path, plus some levels will have more than 1 secondary path, but only one will take you to a Big Ring. This solution allowed me to not waste all that space in the levels, and also allowed me to insert my level designs in the hack.


But this is not the update I wanted post today, but I guees I'll link it to the next question (Well, not truly a question actually)

Yuo took the words out of my mouth. Unfortunately not all SNES music (Expecially from some specific games, like Super Mario RPG, or Donkey Kong Country) can easely be ported in a Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic game, but I don't want to give up yet.
The music in this hack will be, of course, taken from Mario Games. But as for the enemies, since a direct port is impossible, the music too will be adapted/rearranged-remixed for this hack. But the music will not be only from the Mario main series. This is my hack, and I wanted to put at least something taken from games that featured Mario that I really liked in this, and what's better than the music, which is the thing that I consider most important in a VG?
And so, as my first musical update, I'll post the new version of a song taken from a game I always loved:

Mario's Pad (Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars)

I'm starting to understand how Sonic 1 Music and Xm3Smps work, and I'll post more music here as soon as I have finished it. Maybe someone will say that if a music do not have the same instruments it will no longer be the same tune, but I think that some personal interpretation in a hack can be important, so if a music has different voices than the original is because I wanted that (If a music turn really bad in this way, probably it will not be put in the hack).

 

It seems there are no true questions today.

<!--quoteo(post=201675:date=Jun 21 2008, 01:33 AM:name=nineko)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nineko @ Jun 21 2008, 01:33 AM)
A flying fish Koopanik. Normally this enemy hang in little rivers and lake, but when their target is near they will jump out of the water to attack him. The base for this enemy was the Chopper, and its sharp fins were used as a base for the Cheep Chopper. The Cheep Chopper will act like a true Cheep Cheep, and it will not only move vertically but also orizontally. Be carefull of their swift attacks, their are faster than it seems and not all of them will jump at the same height.

Troopameat:

Ahhh, probably the most well known Mario enemy, second only to the Goomba. The Troopameat it is mostly a moving cargo for parts and supplies for the other Koopaniks (The grey thing on their big shells is the door from were things are inserted or taken). Apart from this, they do not differs very much from the Motogoombas in terms of attack capacity, and Sonic will be able to defeat them without any problem in one hit. Apart from this they act like the Red Koopa Troopas, and will move on the platforms they stand on without falling in pits. Maybe their shells are a little too hard for Mario, but Sonic will have no problems in smashing them.

 

I kinda feel observed


Been a while. I'm back and I can now finally work on my hack at full time. I know this is technically a bump and a double post, so I'll post multiple informations in one big post to make up for this.

First, here are the first screens of the second world: Underground

The world 1-2 can perfectly fit in a Zone like Marble, and in this hack it will feature an outside too, beside the classic underground layout.
Since in Super Mario Bros the outside was not much different from the ground stages, I decided to create a new one by mixing the original Marble Zone background and some things adapted by me. There are a lot of eyes out there, but inside everything will change, cause it seems that the old underground tunnels from Super Mario Bros have changed more than it seems.


Passing on, the last one (And also the one I like more) of the classic ground enemies appears: The Piranha Plant

Created by modifing the Newtron (Which also lead to a pleasant surprise) they behave like their original form and they will come out from the pipes that are placed here and there, the only difference is that they are a little more aggresive, and so they will come out and reenter in the pipes faster.
There is also a yellow variation that, instead of biting thin air like the red cousin, will shoot fireball-shaped bullets from the mouth.


And now, I guess it's finally time to talk a little about the bosses.
Of course, the main enemy could only be him: King Bowser Koopa

Driving a modified version of the Koopa Clown Car created by Dr. Robotnik, called Koopa Clown Mobile, the king of Koopas will try his best to stop Sonic.

I'm too inexperienced for a complete boss change, so the bosses will be the ones from Sonic The Hedgehog without differences. Well, without many differences, to be more precise.

Althought the bosses will still be them, they behave a little different.
Let's take the GHZ Boss as an example. At first it may appear it has no differences, but then...

Hey, where did it go?
Hello?
......
WHOA!!!

It seems he is a lot faster than the last time. And not only that, after the attack he will go past the level boundaries, so you can't directly counterattack. Also there are no flying platforms in the Mushroom Kingdom, and so how could anyone attack him?
Well, there is a way. Since Mario in his games could damage his enemies anytime when stomping on them (Sonic instead can damage his enemies even if he attack from below, but he must be rolling) I added a new feature to Sonic: when Sonic is falling down after jumping on a spring he can hurt his enemies. But how this traslate to this Boss? Below the area where the flying platforms originally were, hidden in the grass, there are 2 springs (You can't miss them, when falling down after hitting the camera boundaries Sonic will automatically fall on them. I'm not that mean), and those are the key to win this Boss fight. However remember that Sonic can damage his enemies (Or the bosses) only when falling down, not when he goes up (When the right animation starts sonic hurls in a ball before assuming the "falling down pose". The ball is the signal that he can now damage anyone).
A pratical example of the right attack pattern:

Seems hard? Maybe, but to put this in a more direct way we can say that this boss fight is all about "Timing".

Exactly, timing. In the Mario Universe, timing is an important factor in almost all boss fights, and I wanted that at least one boss in this hack was all about timing. It may appear hard, but if you get the right timing you will defeat him:

Also, since this is the first boss, to make it easier to catch the rhythm there is a safe area below the emergency ring (It will be here only in the first boss fight) where the boss attacks won't reach you in any way.


Or alternatively you can try to follow the rhythm of the boss battle song to help you. Super Mario Bros doesn't have many boss themes, so I borrowed one from the "western" Super Mario Bros 2:
Boss Battle (Super Mario Bros 2/ Super Mario USA)
In these tune the guitar leads the original theme, but the bass will make you hear the rhythm.

One last note on the bosses: The bosses will take 9 hits to be destroyed this time.
So... why 9? Because 9 his multiple of 3, and 3 is a recurring number in Mario bosses. But 3 hits are too low for a Sonic game, and 6 hits too were too low, so I decided for the 9.

 

All right, today's update wasn't planned, but since more than a month passed from the first post, and after reading some posts in this thread, I decided to change it. Before starting, I want to thank SOTI, because he made this update possible. But first, let'see.

It is a little too soon for a complete playable version, however I plan to release 1 or 2 demo version when I reach some goals. In the meantime, follow the updates, or take a look at today's post.

Heh, you don't know hwo much tries I had to do before finding the best speed-movement combination, but I'm very satisfied with the results, and in the end it is not that hard either. As for the Piranha Plant, take a look at today's update.

Thanks, and let's hope the other ones come well like this one.

I didn't know that piratated game, however this one will use the Sonic engine; after all, this is a Sonic 1 hack.

As for today, here are some videos from my hack. The first video shows the first act of the first world, but its main purpose is to see the Koopaniks in action. However, apart from the enemies, everything in this video is WIP and not complete.

Concept Video 1: World 1 enemies

And since I finally learned how to make videos, I'll post another one. This video, as the previous one, don't show anything new, and will show the first boss in action. I thought it would be nice to show how this boss work, so I made this video. Like the other one, try to ignore everything else than the boss, since probably will be different in the final version.

Concept Video 2: World 1 Boss



Happy watching