Recent Posts

31

Map Requests / Re: Sega Genesis Mini 2 - full map set

« Last post by JonLeung on March 15, 2025, 08:06:45 pm »

I can tell that something has awakened in G.E.R., as evidenced by submissions of eight games on this list, in a single day!

We've now got complete maps for Alien Soldier (E), Atomic Runner, Clay Fighter, Elemental Master, Hellfire, Herzog Zwei, and Midnight Resistance.
As well, we've got a start on Rainbow Islands: The Story Of Bubble Bobble 2 - Extra Version (J).

It's a nice variety of genres, and we also have vertical maps, horizontal maps, square maps, and in the case of Midnight Resistance, the entire game in a single image.

After much silence on this topic (over a year since the last submission!), it's nice to see this batch of games mapped for VGMaps.com.  Thanks so much, G.E.R.!

32

Map Requests / Re: Full map set for Sonic the Hedgehog's games

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 14, 2025, 05:24:23 pm »

I just recently noticed something, about Sky Park Zone from Sonic Rivals...

I took a brief visit to the Spriters Resource, visited the game's "Miscellaneous" section labelled "Screens and Banners", uploaded by a user called "Boilingpot", and found one little interesting discovery.

At that sheet, located between Venoom, one of the Badniks, and two of the bosses, Egg Eagle and Egg Turtle, on the rightside of said collection of loading screens that give out random hints, I spotted an unused boss, and it looks like it WAS intended to be fought at Sky Park, with Dr. Eggman, or rather Eggman Nega in disguise, as the mech's pilot. And it would've been fought as the 3rd boss after finishing 1st Place in Act 2 of Sky Park Zone, as would it always be for every Zone in that game.

I kinda had a thought on why Sky Park lacked a boss to fight, as all the game's Zones have, and I have no idea why that boss was cut from that Zone. It could've rounded out the roster of bosses there.

I can only guess that boss was cut out because of time constraints.

I don't have any idea what is that boss' name, but if I were to guess right, it also has the "Egg" prefix in it, as all others have.

Did anyone around here knew about this discovery? I didn't. And I'd sure like to see how and why that boss would've turned out, had it remained in that game.

The image's link is here as proof - https://www.spriters-resource.com/resources/sheets/110/113165.png?updated=1548274767

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Map Gab / Re: Jurassic Park (Sega Megadrive/Genesis)

« Last post by Vertigo on March 12, 2025, 08:18:53 pm »

I've made the mistake of getting going with Rampage Edition before figuring out a way to automate anything... the game really is vast, here's my progress after 3 days. Still a lot left to do even just in Grant's version of this one map. The whole game is going to take at least a couple of months, at this rate.

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Gaming / Re: It's MAR10 today. So what Mario game are you playing or replaying?

« Last post by JonLeung on March 10, 2025, 09:15:56 am »

It's that day again!

Loaded up my Anbernic RG35XX SP...



Since last year I FINALLY played and finished Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U), and both Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, both on the 3DS, decided to actually play them on the 3DS instead of doing the streaming-to-the-Wii U thing.  This is a big deal!  Protip: if you're going to max out your beans (which raise stats) in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE BEANS OUT IN THE WORLD FIRST!  I did the trick to get max beans and used them to maxed Mario and Luigi's stats, and then I maxed the beans again, but then I wasn't able to pick up any hidden beans, because they were maxed out, and I wasn't able to use any to make room, because the stats were maxed.  Ridiculous.  But then again, they probably didn't expect anyone to do a trick to get so many.   



I just finished LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga with 100% just the other day (took 99.9 hours, no joke), so I am considering getting to Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch), so that I'd be ALMOST caught up - still have Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Switch) as well.  But I've been putting off getting caught up on Final Fantasy, so I might just have to play Final Fantasy XIII-2 instead.

On non-RPG Mario games, I finally got around to returning to Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) and finishing that with 100% with my brother.  That last stage is no joke!  But I guess that's the norm with Mario games lately, an insane challenge (not as hard as some Kaizo Mario stuff, of course, but pretty punishing as far as official Mario stages go).

Since I felt I had to play some Mario this morning, I played some more Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA, but on the Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack's GBA app on the Switch).  As you likely know by me mentioning it often, this GBA remake of Super Mario Bros. 3 includes extra stages that are unlocked with the e-Reader accessory and e-Cards.  Some cards are Japanese exclusives.  Peardian has mapped those extra stages, as seen here on VGMaps.com.  The Wii U VC version (from the eShop, no longer accessible) and the NSO EP GBA app on the Switch include all of these stages, without the need of the e-Reader accessory or having to hunt down the cards, some of which are rare!  So I played the e-Reader stages, including the four "Classic" stages as well as the three challenging "Promo" stages.  I guess the "Promo" stages were originally distributed at Japanese events instead of on e-Cards?

One promo stage, "No Time To Dawdle", has a timer of only 20 seconds, so you really have to book it!  I eventually got it, but it's more fun to see one of my failed attempts.

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Map Gab / Re: Bugs Bunny In Crazy Castle 4 (Game Boy/GBC)

« Last post by Bro.D.Max on March 10, 2025, 04:47:45 am »

Thanks to user Winslinator
Now it's completed!

36

VGMaps Social Board / Re: What 2D Game Engines are best for making levels and their maps?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 09, 2025, 06:05:36 pm »

Well, I hardly saw anyone send in their thoughts on 2D engines lately, 'cause they seem a bit busy or forgetful to reply, so, why not I give it a go? I didn't depend on waiting too long for it, anyway.

The Hatch Engine, from my perspective, is a real good 2D game engine, and its usage seems really good for 2D games, one of which is a Sonic fangame, Sonic Galactic. From what I've seen in the second demo, the engine is capable of handling levels much larger and longer than what we've got so far, even Coral Garden Act 1's size seems to surpass that of Sonic Colors' DS version's Asteroid Coaster Act 2's size and length, by comparison.

I can see loads of potential for making new 2D games of the Hi-Bit variety, not limiting to games made for NES, SNES, nor PS1 alone. If I only know how to easily download that engine, I'd use it to see what it is capable of.

Maybe it could be helpful to past games that ran on prior engines that lacked upkeep and specific features to keep it smooth and efficient, such as Clickteam's Fusion, whose version was MMF2 before it updated to CF2.5 and used for Freedom Planet.

The Retro Engine is a good engine that delivered Sonic games, from past reduxes of past 2D Sonic games to the original game, "Sonic Mania" and its update, "Plus", its great potential is amazing. Its recent usage was for the latest compilation, "Sonic Origins", which had it updated to Version 5U to allow past versions of the engine work in it, but so far, no other game's use it yet. Hope people get to use it more soon.

...That's what I've got so far.

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« Last post by JonLeung on March 08, 2025, 03:20:36 pm »

Just made a couple Shorts to make the point that most Super NES games' titles do not actually begin with "Super" and that most Nintendo 64 games' titles do not actually end with "64".

Though, one of the Super NES games shown does have "Super" in its title if you go by in-game titles...

38

Map Gab / Re: Jurassic Park (Sega Megadrive/Genesis)

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 07, 2025, 07:00:20 pm »

Yeah, this was my way of submitting the maps. I could email them over if that would be easier, but I noticed that the Bubsy maps had been submitted via links on the forum kind of like this, so thought this way might be okay.

Well, yeah, but I kinda have the foresight to play it safe for that, just in case such outlets could be temporarily out for maintenance. I mean, its fine, but, better safe than sorry, I say. Map submitting to alternate outlets besides VGMaps has never been carved in stone. And, that was from quite before I mentioned to the mapper responsible they can still be submitted to the Atlas.

It is a *weird* way of doing it, especially as the loop is technically a tiling effect, rather than the Sonic style of teleporting from the bottom to the top of the level. I'd guess it's part of why that level lags so much, there's a lot of geometry loaded into memory.

The game is generally super hard. I got started mapping by just doing River and Pumping Station, because those levels are *designed* to make the player die repeatedly - there are drops and jumps that you can only learn to do safely via trial and error. The game could really do with an Ecco-style system in which you have unlimited lives, so can afford to throw them away. I think there's a Game Genie code that can do that, but in my version it makes Grant unable to jump off moving objects.

Yes, and not a pint of time and thought has been spent optimizing the geometry to smooth the lag out.

Too bad that game didn't have chances to gain extra lives by a bonus stage, nor have extra lives hidden in levels. There's only three, no more. Would've made the game a bit more lenient.

*sigh* Well, we all grew up with enduring trial and error in games all the time, its natural.

A rather nice alternative, but, I felt that could've been an unlockable option by clearing the game.

39

Map Gab / Re: Jurassic Park (Sega Megadrive/Genesis)

« Last post by John Brain on March 07, 2025, 04:48:06 pm »

I, too, wanted to make maps of this game from my childhood, but that crazy scrolling first level and weird "ghost mode" scared me away.  I'm glad you managed to fight through them and get things done, nice job! 

40

Map Gab / Re: Jurassic Park (Sega Megadrive/Genesis)

« Last post by Vertigo on March 07, 2025, 02:15:40 pm »

Thanks, you two!

Really neat, all the same. And thanks for providing the links to the maps on JP Wiki, but you know, Vertigo, they can be simply submitted to VGMaps, too. Just saying. Love to see it in the Atlas.

Yeah, this was my way of submitting the maps. I could email them over if that would be easier, but I noticed that the Bubsy maps had been submitted via links on the forum kind of like this, so thought this way might be okay.

And I see the game's first level is entirely made in an endless vertical loop, but you've given the necessary guidance to overcome it. No wonder I had so much trouble getting through that stage when I played it before. I ended up losing more lives than winning many times.

It is a *weird* way of doing it, especially as the loop is technically a tiling effect, rather than the Sonic style of teleporting from the bottom to the top of the level. I'd guess it's part of why that level lags so much, there's a lot of geometry loaded into memory.

The game is generally super hard. I got started mapping by just doing River and Pumping Station, because those levels are *designed* to make the player die repeatedly - there are drops and jumps that you can only learn to do safely via trial and error. The game could really do with an Ecco-style system in which you have unlimited lives, so can afford to throw them away. I think there's a Game Genie code that can do that, but in my version it makes Grant unable to jump off moving objects.