Topic: 2009 April Fools' Project brainstorming

[JonLeung]

If I could do Super Kid Icarus on my own in one month and Oracle Of Hours in four, then having close to two years with a team ought to be plenty of time.



The question is dedication, which is why we have to be sure we want to do this.  It'll be easy to figure out the details for consistency and coherence once we're going.



When I'm not sure what I want to do, I can't yet expect everyone else to commit.  I think all I've said so far is that I'm leaning toward Metroid Dread but I'm still concerned about who else is/isn't on board.  But you're right, if we all waffle because we're waiting for anyone else to make the first step then no one will commit.  

[RT 55J]

Here are some questions to consider if we do something like Metroid Dread (although most could apply to other projects too):



1. How will the game map be structured?

- Will the maps be directly and cleanly connected (ie Super Metroid) or not (MZM, Fusion)?

- Will the areas be relatively small (SotN) or large (SM)?

- Will the areas be on one big planet or on several smaller and self-contained planets?



2. What system will we pretend the game is on?

- What limitations (tile/screen/palette size), if any, will we place upon ourselves to make this seem realistic?



3. Is there a possibility of the game being released before we finish?

- Should an alternative, but similar, project be considered?



4. What upgrades would Samus earn?

- How would these upgrades effect her progression in the game?



5. How will the map itself be assembled?

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"its a good day to do what has to be done by me and help my brother to defeat the enemys" - John Freeman

[JonLeung]

Good questions...



If we move forward with Metroid Dread, at least any graphics or ideas from Metroid Fusion that we might consider borrowing won't be a concern for much longer...rocktyt (who did The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap maps) will soon be sending in maps for that.  Awesome.

[TerraEsperZ]

JonLeung Said:

Good questions...



If we move forward with Metroid Dread, at least any graphics or ideas from Metroid Fusion that we might consider borrowing won't be a concern for much longer...rocktyt (who did The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap maps) will soon be sending in maps for that.  Awesome.

Woohoo! Another map project I can finally officially cancel without feeling guilty about it (Metroid Fusion)



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"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." [...] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard



Current projects: (Gen), Sonic The Hedgehog (Gen), Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES), Bucky O'Hare (NES)

[marioman]

Interesting burst of excitement there Terra.  I have never seen a person get so excited about canceling something.  



That's great about the Fusion maps.  Maybe rocktyt will map Zero Mission soon?

[TerraEsperZ]

That's because it's a game I've always wanted to have maps for, either by me or someone else, and the fact that it's the black sheep of the Metroid franchise seemed to remove any enthusiasm from other potential mappers, thereby putting the responsibility on me to do it or no one else would.



As for Zero Mission, aren't there already two sets of (nearly identical) maps for it? It's just that none have been submitted to the site yet. You can check out Wileee and Edsword's map set at http://www.screenshotmaps.com



---

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." [...] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard



Current projects: (Gen), Sonic The Hedgehog (Gen), Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES), Bucky O'Hare (NES)

[marioman]

I am not sure.  I was just looking at the maps on screenshot maps.com, and they are incomplete.  (Only Norfair and Ridley's Lair are mapped.)  By the way, why haven't Wileee and Edsword offered to allow us to host PNG versions of their Super Metroid maps?  They seem to have bandwidth issues, and hosting them here would surely help distribute the leeching.

[Revned]

I actually remember when they first mapped Zero Mission. There was another guy who helped, and each of the three hosted the maps on his own website. So that might be why you thought there were multiple sets.



As for the PNGs, I asked Ed for them years ago, and persisted for a year before giving up. He's probably collected them all by now, he just hasn't uploaded them. I hope he does sometime, but I'm not optimistic.

[TerraEsperZ]

Actually, I remember some pretty heated arguments on a Metroid forum where two people (I don't remember if either was Wileee or Edsword) were mapping the game each on their own, and one side ended up accusing the other of taking his maps and simply adding enemy sprites since everything was identical, including the background alignment. Anyway, I've brought this thread way off topic.



---

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." [...] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard



Current projects: (Gen), Sonic The Hedgehog (Gen), Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES), Bucky O'Hare (NES)

[JonLeung]

In any case, it would be nice if we could have Super Metroid maps...



As of just a few minutes ago, the full maps for Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion are up, thanks to rocktyt and zerofighter.  The maps are pretty sweet.



So we just need...hmmm...Metroid Prime Pinball and Super Metroid to finish off the 2D Metroid series.  Super Metroid would really be nice.



Who do I have to talk to to get the Super Metroid maps that already exist somewhere in PNG format?



I guess we're kind of straying off topic...

[Revned]

Ed and Wileee have them.

[marioman]

marioman said:

Maybe rocktyt will map Zero Mission soon?

JonLeung said:

As of just a few minutes ago, the full maps for Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion are up, thanks to rocktyt and zerofighter.

</psychic>  Nice!

[JonLeung]

I guess we would've heard by now if Metroid Dread is coming at E3.



Then again, I think Nintendo's press conference is tomorrow, so we'll see by then.  It will make it an easy decision to NOT do a Metroid Dread if the real deal is coming.

[Will]

If the Metroid 2009 April maps are to be cancelled because of a new release, what could be done instead? Either one of our previous suggestions or a new idea?

[JonLeung]

Still no sign of Metroid Dread, so that's good.  (At least "good" in this sense.)



Assuming there's still enough interest for this to go ahead, anyway.



Regardless of whether or not we do it, I sent wileee a friendly email.  I let him in on the secret but told him that in any case, high-quality 1:1 .PNGs of full Super Metroid maps would be more than welcome here on VGMaps.com.