raocow's talkhaus

nathanisbored wrote:Red Switch and then Angry Fish. Also I vote to do Disco before finishing world 4.

So yeah, dive bombing into the ground with a cape is actually super simple. The only thing you need is enough height when you start cape flight that he can go through the entire diving animation before hitting the ground, otherwise you will just belly slide.

Thanks for the info! I honestly didn't know how to dive-bomb, hence the rapidly sped up section of me trying to do it. It's crazy that I still have lots to learn about the SMW engine, ha!

aterraformer wrote:I vote for the Red Switch then Angry Fish. I also vote that in world 5, when we tell you to use v1.02+ for a level, you do it for that level. ;)

Don't worry, I will apply patches in the future... for single levels. Somehow.

morsel/morceau wrote:I vote for the red switch followed by DDP.
I'm not sure how far you will make it if you insist on beating all levels, but you will always have a marginal victory in hand because you are definitely capable of reaching and defeating Bowser as most of the hardest levels are optional to this goal (and these may be more palatable to you after your experiences along the necessary path).

That's a good point about how the hardest levels seem to be option - or, at the very least, there are multiple paths to the same ending. I will try to 100% the game, of course, as dumb a goal as that may be!

Zach808 wrote:I vote for the red switch... Btw, after doing the red switch, I'd say that you're ready for Disco Dance Party. I wouldn't call it harder than Chains v1.01, at least, and the red switch will make it more doable.

era64 wrote:I vote for Red Switch Palace, and then Angry Fish, because I'm sure you will have time for it after this level.
If I can, I'm making an anti-vote for Disarray... oh, it wasn't an actual vote... whatever then. You aren't ready for it. And I do mean it stronger than Disco Dance Party, which I actually think is doable for you.

Today I prove that I'm the world's worst Mario player. In saying that, I encourage you all to vote for Disco!!
Ep34 - Fish Fallacies

The only thing up in the corner of the Red Switch Palace is a moon, nothing to worry about!

Yes, my level and another.

You know, you axed... asked for demos... Disco Place Zone, so I vote for Final Fantasy Marathon... Yellow Turtle Bouncing Fun.

So, I tried Disco tonight and it's definitely beyond my "abilities"!

It only took 42 minutes to lose 100 lives, and the furthest I got was to the helpful red switch block at the end of the first room, where you throw a Bowser robot thing up to hit a spinning block. I know what to do after that (use the new disco shell to get the P-switch, then use that to get over the lava to what I think is a midpoint). I'm guessing the level is quite a bit longer than just one or two rooms (I suspect multiple midpoints, and that the first room is just a tutorial for the rest of the level).

Disco Dance Party is clearly a great level, but I'm not sure if I can make a good video out of it, since it's so far beyond what I can do. It needs good reactions and really good control of Mario's momentum, neither of which I have.

Not quite sure what to do. Should I try it again and again? I can do that, but the video will be garbage, since a spike death montage that lasts 20 minutes wouldn't be a lot of fun to watch. I could do the World 4 castle, but a lot of people are suggesting that the castle should wait until after Disco is done. I don't know if that's an indicator of the difficulty of the castle.

I'll take any and all suggestions! Haven't even had the time yet to record the B-Side, since I had to spend way too much time tonight getting around my Google Scholar ban to get work done (don't ask...! )

Hmm, if it's going to be that much of a thing, maybe wait to watch the movie for it first, because it might help out. I wouldn't grind at it too much right now, if you really think it's gonna be over your head. Just continue with the normal game for now. Maybe you can grind at it slowly over time instead.

I'd say check out the movie. If you can't beat the level even after that, I'd say skip it. There are some levels that you could just grind out and win eventually (even some harder than this), but disco riding is one of those things where you either get it or you don't. Even if you know all the mechanics of that goddamn shell, it's still really hard. Considering several of the levels coming up in this hack, I wouldn't blame you if you just skipped some of them, or set a goal to beat just the main game. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if raocow skipped a couple

or at least the hellhole that anonymousbl00dlust made

.

I had an idea for how to make tonight's video less of a trainwreck :D It'll take a bit of time, but it'll be worth it

Here it is, my worst video yet. But I tried to make the most out of the trainwreck. Enjoy
Ep35a - Disco Disco

You know, it's not that bad. Definitely not a trainwreck.

When you had 7 lives, you did a lot of a level. Don't give up.

The second part of a level should be easier.

Also, if that helps, raocow did die most (so far) in Disco Dance Party and another level that you can reach by now. You don't see raocow losing 90 lives every day, you know. If you would lose 400 lives for that level, that would be actually really good.

~disco music~

disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco at the disco

no Disco Duck, 0/10

raocow wrote:no Disco Duck, 0/10

Oddity Archive save us all.

So, I put 2 and a half hours and 300 lives into Disco Dance Party tonight and still didn't get through the first screen. After too many attempts, I used the shortcut as shown in the unlockable video, and the next rooms are just too difficult. Disco wins! I can't do it :(

Vote for an alternate level if you wish, or give me some decent tips for discoing it up! Sorry about this! This level has shown the limit of my very limited skills!

Yeah just continue with the normal game. Too bad, but I'd feel guilty torturing you anymore

I think the new goal should just be to try finishing the game, rather than go for all exits. I guess try every level you come to, but if it takes more than one play session, it might be worth moving on unless the level is absolutely required to continue. I'm sure you don't want to spend your limited free time each week grinding the same levels over and over, and not to mention, Disco just unlocks Chains again!

I agree, I think it would be best for you not to take votes and to instead try to 'mainline' the game. Once you get more experience following a more regular difficulty curve, you can go back and do the side-stuff.

Yeah, just focus on beating Bowser for now. Once you do that, maybe start with the M/M World 6 gauntlet as a warm up (or any other unfinished levels in the overworld), then progress to Disco, and then the rest of the star and special worlds. By the time you beat Bowser, you'll probably have adjusted to a higher difficulty curve overall, and maybe start to lose the whole flailing about habits.

Actually, you could try the first 3 special world levels too (though skip the dragon coin challenge in the 2nd one. Probably the single hardest thing to pull off in the entire hack besides beating the final hidden level). The 4th special world level is where the difficulty starts to ramp up significantly, but until then the world is pretty doable for most people (though I've heard the 2nd half of Marathon has been nerfed slightly. If I'm wrong and the nerf is significant, might want to wait on that one.)

I agree with these replies. Also note that most people didn't beat this hack 100% legitly even if they've been playing SMW hacks for years you know.
If you consider changing the goal, I'd suggest update the version of the game too. The authors of all the remaining normal levels (at this point) would want to see their polished versions played. You will be still able to choose whether to play Iso's level in world 5 with extra midpoints or not.

Yeah, this whole "original vision" of the level argument just doesn't hold as much water when you realize that some of the authors are probably regretting their early decisions. For example, maybe Iso felt guilt-tripped into adding midpoints at first, but he seemed to realize how much they were needed (at least in Chains) pretty quickly. Better to play the best version of levels rather than the original, possibly broken, ones, because it's less of a headache for everyone involved. Hell, the Marathon nerf is probably the best thing to happen to that level.

I suppose part of it is me not being good at extreme length, but I'd rather go through another 1F8-tier level than do all those rooms in one go while keeping a feather.

Thanks everybody for all of your support! The goal should be to beat Bowser, everything else is a bonus :)

Here's the episode that came out of last night's recording session. I promise that there'll be an episode 35c at some point!!
Ep35b - Disco Defeat

Next up: World 4 Castle!

Quick Update: This morning I had time for a quick practice run before work. Didn't record commentary, but just wanted to show how far I can get. Question: Am I near the end?
Furthest so far in Disco Dance Party

I told you there'd be an episode 35c! One more try at Disco Dance Party.
Ep35c - Disco Defiance

Oh man, this is my 200th video! (Remember, there are like 120 Copy Kitty videos, ha!)

Disco Dance Party - Alcahest - Castle

Yeah, that's a pretty good level theme for a really hard sprite bouncing level which doesn't allow power ups when entering and is placed on Star Road map, I guess?

But seriously, congratulations. I'm pretty sure you will be able to defeat Bowser, as all mandatory levels are easier than Disco Dance Party. Sorta a spoiler, but whatever. That's not to say there aren't hard levels, just they can be skipped in some way.

Next castle is quite hard, but it's also a really fun level (although its author dislikes it, oh well).

era64 wrote:Disco Dance Party - Alcahest - Castle
Yeah, that's a pretty good level theme for a really hard sprite bouncing level which doesn't allow power ups when entering and is placed on Star Road map, I guess?
But seriously, congratulations. I'm pretty sure you will be able to defeat Bowser, as all mandatory levels are easier than Disco Dance Party. Sorta a spoiler, but whatever. That's not to say there aren't hard levels, just they can be skipped in some way.
Next castle is quite hard, but it's also a really fun level (although its author dislikes it, oh well).

Thanks again for the music link, although for this Alcahest music I prefer the SMW remix! After playing today's level, I do feel more confident about getting through the game. I sometimes forget that not every level is Disco, Rapture or Chains!

Grounder wrote:congratulations.gif

Thank you, thank you

I think I struggled less with this Jolpe level than with his World 1 and 2 levels, haha!
Ep36 - Reverse Resentment