Roadmap - May 2021
How are Vitor Vilela's projects going? This post is a summary of which projects are work in progress, which projects has updates planned and which projects are on the initial phrase (which means they will be worked on soon!)
The roadmap will be monthly updated for keeping track of everything on Vitor's projects and how they are progressing.
Finished projects
Super Mario World with SA-1 Pack - status: stable.
Gradius III with SA-1 Root - status: stable. Now we have the SA-1 Origin patch that makes the game not run too fast on some sections. Read more about here!
Contra III with SA-1 Root - status: requires update. It doesn't work on hardware currently and a fix is being planned.
Super R-Type with SA-1 Root - status: stable.
Race Drivin' with SA-1 Root - status: more updates planned. The optional SA-1 Origin version allowed you to play Race Drivin' with the same speed pace as original, but yet with the smooth 30 FPS gameplay. The RPM display however is still unstable on MiSTer. I have plans for fixing it together Contra III.
Project FastROM: Super Castlevania IV - status: stable.
Project FastROM: Axelay - status: stable. The feedback was pretty positive and I believe the FastROM implementation was enough to make the game feel much better. Once again, FastROM has the great advantage of being more stable than SA-1 Root and its compatibility is much better. I'm happy with the result.
Project FastROM: F-Zero - status: stable. I know some people were surprised with this release and indeed it's a surprise. I had the complete disassembly of the game floating around since 2019 and given that the ROM hacking community wanted a stable FastROM patch I quickly got one working with the The Last Remapper tool and the 100.00% disassembly I had. I'm happy with the positive feedback so far!
In progress projects
Super Mario World with widescreen support - status: work in progress. I fixed most of the single screen levels. I decided to edit the levels using FuSoYa's Lunar Magic 1.65, which is a lightweight version that does not modify much of the game's internal data compared to Lunar Magic 3.21. That will give me more freedom on adjusting some level design that would end up breaking with the widescreen size, such as Yoshi Island 2 level where part of the koopa troopas would already spawn on the level initialization and the last 3-4 would not, making the line of them kinda broken. The other sprite types still need to be fixed. I have great hopes of getting the patch done between mid-May and early-June.
Project FastROM: Secret of Mana - status: planned. I can't believe Square didn't use FastROM on this game. Secret of Mana is one of my favorite SNES games ever and it suffers slowdown on some parts when there's a lot of magic going-on and when there's multiple NPCs on the screen. The FastROM patch will sure make the game play much better. I don't have a disassembly of the game yet, however. SA-1 Collection samples would be welcome. You can read more about it at https://vilela.sneslab.net/2019/06/15/the-sa-1-collection-project/ -- but I'm sure the Secret of Mana randomizer ROM hacking community will help me with the disassembling process.
Star Fox with Super FX 2 - status: I'm still waiting for the Super FX dev cart. It's taking more time than normal to reach. Since April 2 the package seems to stay stuck at "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending" at Los Angeles, according USPS tracking. I heard it's normal and it might be on the way to reach Brazil. According Brazil USPS equivalent, Correios, the package didn't reach my country yet. Let's hope in May it the package reaches. It's fundamental for my Super FX 2 studies. However, while the package doesn't reach my home, I'm going ahead and figuring out the SNES 3D limitations, you can read more on my (patron-only) throughput problem and solving the throughput problem on Star Fox posts.
For May, I hope to get Super Mario World widescreen + Secret of Mana FastROM + Contra III hardware update done.
Suggestions or requests? Make sure to comment this post!
Consider supporting me on Patreon for more SNES ROM hacking projects. See ya! :)
Comments (4)
U.N. Squadron/Area 88 and Actraiser are early titles that could certainly use a bit of help. Super Metroid is notable for large slowdown with large numbers of enemies and/or power bomb usage.
I’ll keep saying it: Excellent Work! A game with a lot of slow down to possibly fix down the road would be Dino City. Keep it up!
Hi Vitor! As always, thanks a lot for your great work on improving these great SNES games. Really appreciated the FastROM hack for Axelay and looking forward to your newly anounced FastROM project for Secret of Mana. Been investigating the SNES games library and would like to make the following suggestions for SA-1 Hacks or FastROM Hacks: - Sparkster: Already FastROM. Awesome action platformer downgraded but two problems. The main critic is that it has so many moments of slowdown that last long and happen very often during the game, specially in the boss fights and shoot 'em up level. The other problem is the unfair and really difficult boss fight (robot duel) at the end of stage 7, but that was solved by a hack that make this fight easier and less anoying https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4869/. Longplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEx3Wa86Mes - Naxat Super Pinball: Jaki Crush (Japan): Already FastROM. The thrid game in the Devil's Crush series, it's a pretty good pinball game often criticised for being a lot slower than Devil's Crush on the TurboGrafx 16 or Sega Genesis. Longplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFLLLXshg-I - Bio Metal (Japanese Version): SlowROM. A great and intense underrated shoot 'em up with a unique shield mechanic and lots of action on screen that causes lots of slowdown. In my opinion, the best version is the Japanese one because the music was completely changed for the USA and European release and didn't fit the game well. Longplay Japan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iEfkX5TvnM Longplay USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j117k0MzWCE - Super E.D.F. Earth Defense Force: (Japanese Version): SlowROM (USA also uses SlowROM). It's a remake port of Earth Defense Force from the arcades. The game is similar to the original but it has some differences that enhance the game like new levels, new weapons and improved graphics, music and nice mode-7 effects. The game slows down a lot when too much stuff is going on, but it's not quite as bad as it was in Gradius III or Super R-Type. The Japanese version should be the one to do. It seems identical to the USA version and it's completely in English, but it has an easy difficulty option and can select more shields, giving extra possibilites for novice players not present in the USA version. It's not an easy game, so these extra options are a welcome extra. Longplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTW3jLH7KWc - Final Fight 3: Already FastROM. Great beat 'em up plagued with lots of slowdowns, specially when playing in two player mode when ther are three enemies on screen. Longplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iif-xSOkC2Y - Stunt Race FX: Super FX + SlowROM. An interesting and overlooked 3D Super FX racing game downgraded by frame rate problems and laggy control. With an improved frame rate to run more smoothly and maybe higher resolution, it would be one of best racing games on the SNES. Longplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me9mMw7EIMI Longplay using overclocked emulator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWhZSMsRm9U Thank you!!
I always vote for a fluid version of UN SQUADRON. Otherwise, another great game that might deserve your attention is POCKY & ROCKY, which unfortunately slows down a lot.