Tag: Video Games

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 4.0 Experimental Preview Released

A preview of Super Mario Crossover 4.0 is released for WebGL

Update: The port was canceled due to getting a demanding job.

I have good news! I still know how to make games and am not dead. Due to those two things (and also getting a lot of requests), I have been porting Super Mario Bros. Crossover to WebGL. You can play a preview here.

If you would like to listen to an in-depth conversation about the new version, check out the latest episode of our podcast.

Poor Glitchy Mario

Please note that this is a very much not done game. It is so not done, that playing the game will make you sad because there are bugs everywhere and performance is not so good. The good news is work on it is going fast, and it will not be too long before it catches up to the flash version.

I have spent the last 5 years working on a general-use 2D platforming codebase and workflow that I could use on multiple projects. It took a while, but it’s finally ready to start using, and this is the first project I made with it. It’s built on top of Unity.

It will take much less time to add new content to the game due to the clean codebase and data-based asset workflow. This is a complete rewrite of the game. In fact, I may allow people to mod the game in the future by open-sourcing the data portion of the game. There is no promise or timeline on that, but it’s a goal I have in mind.

Super Mario Bros. Crossover will be updated until it reaches general feature parity with the Flash version, but please note that not every feature will be ported to the WebGL version. There will also be additional features and characters added.

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 3.1.2 Released

Super Mario Bros. Crossover gets updated with the classic power-up system and disabling of skins and characters.

I have a Christmas present for you! I added some awesome new features to Super Mario Bros. Crossover. The classic power-up system from version 1.0 makes a triumphant return, and it now has customizable weapons. In addition to that, I also made it possible to disable skins and characters. Now you can remove characters and skins that you hate from the game! 😀 There are other changes too. Feel free to take a look at the version history to see them all.

So… why did I do this when I announced that the game was done? I figured since it’s Christmas break, it was okay for me to spend my time working on this game instead of Super Action Squad. I also didn’t want to have any regrets about this game, so I figured it was worth it to get it into a state that I was happy with before ending its development.

Also, I thought a bit more about if this is really the “final” version. I  decided that the game will no longer be actively developed, but I may still work on it from time to time as a hobby. I’m so much faster at programming now that in some cases, I can add significant new features with just a few days of work.

With that said, I personally view the game as done, so everyone else should look at it that way as well. If I add stuff, consider it a bonus. And since I view the game as done, I’m going to make a video to go over everything in the game because there are a lot of nuances that the average person probably doesn’t know. There’s also a lot of stuff that was added in this update that changes how some of the characters are controlled. Normally this sort of thing would be explained in-game with tutorials, but I don’t have time to do that. Most of the tutorials in the game are outdated anyway.

This version has not been tested very much, so please report bugs as you find them. Also, remember to leave feedback on the game so I can become a better game developer.

Thanks, and happy holidays from Exploding Rabbit!

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 3.1 Released

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 3.1 is released, and it includes the lost levels. It’s the final version of the game, so please consider supporting the spiritual successor, Super Action Squad.

People have been asking for The Lost Levels to be added to Super Mario Bros. Crossover for a long time, so we decided to do it. Instead of the usual 32, The Lost Levels has 52 levels. We’ve also included easy and hard versions of each, so that’s an additional 156 levels. That means there is now a total of 348 levels in the game. That’s a lot!

We did not change the physics for Mario and Luigi, so this is not the “true” version of The Lost Levels. Instead, it’s based on the version that was in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. We didn’t have time to write new code for any of the characters, so this was the only realistic way for us to do it.

We decided to make this the final update to Super Mario Bros. Crossover, so you can now consider the game “done.” It is possible I may release a level editor in the future, but there are no plans as of right now, so consider it a bonus if it happens. For now, the game will continue to only be playable while connected to the Internet, but after Super Action Squad is released, I’ll remove that requirement and will consider releasing the source code.

So… if you are a fan of this game, should you be sad? NO! You should actually be happy. Super Action Squad is the spiritual successor to Super Mario Bros. Crossover, so it’s basically an expanded version of the game without all of the frustrating limits. It’s been in development since August 2013, and it’s coming along fairly well.

Since we want to make Super Action Squad the best game possible, I created an SMBC feedback forum. Please tell us everything you like and don’t like about SMBC, and we’ll keep it in mind while working on SAS. I am especially interested in feedback on the weapon, power-up, and health systems. I feel like they could be better, but it’s hard to figure out the best way to do them, so any ideas are welcome.

And remember, if you like SMBC, the best way for you to see more of it is to support Super Action Squad. My goal with the game is to take the best elements of all platformers, especially retro ones, and combine them into a single game. It’s a difficult task, but we already have a solid foundation to build upon, so I think we can do it.

Anyway, you can play version 3.1 now, or you can view a list of changes. Thanks for reading!

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 3.0 Delayed

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 3.0 is delayed, but I announce some of the new features that are coming.

We won’t be able to get the new version of Super Mario Bros. Crossover done by June 30th. I’m sorry! In order to make up for this disappointing news, let me show you some cool new features coming to version 3.0.

Improved Skin Selection

Changing skins in previous versions of the game was a chore, and many people didn’t even know it was possible. In version 3.0, it’s very easy. Whenever you select a character, you’ll now see a skin selection screen like the one below.

Changing map skins was also difficult and was hidden away in a menu. Now, you can do it directly on the character select screen.

The map skin selection menu shows you a preview of what each skin looks like before you select it.

Revamped Difficulty Settings

The difficulty settings in previous versions didn’t work well. They either made the game too easy or too hard, and there was no customization. Now, all of the options for difficulty can be adjusted separately, so you can choose exactly how you want to play the game.

We also finally got around to adding one of the most requested features:

Cheats

Cheats are always a fun way to change the experience of the game. We added a few new ones that have been requested for a while. Here is one of my personal favorites:

It’s really fun on water levels.

And I realize that people don’t want to have to unlock the cheats by playing through the game every time, so we added a simple way to unlock them. Retro gamers should be able to figure out how to do it.

And of course, there’s also all of the new stuff shown in the trailer, which includes 32 new levels and easy/hard versions of every level. So basically, there are 192 levels in the game.

Why it was Delayed

Even with all of these new features, we would have had the game done in time if we weren’t working on Super Retro Squad at the same time. When we release version 3.0, we’re also going to be releasing some new information about Super Retro Squad. We want people to think of Super Retro Squad when they think about Super Mario Bros. Crossover, so we’re working on some different ways to make that happen.

This release is a big deal for us, so we want to make sure we take the time to get it right. Please be patient and look forward to it. I can personally tell you that this version of the game is magnitudes better than the previous versions. My favorite new feature is the hard versions of levels. You will die a lot, but don’t worry… we provide plenty of extra lives for you!

I don’t like giving specific dates because it’s stressful to get the game done in time, but I am pretty sure it will be out before the end of July. Please accept my sincerest apologies and understand that this delay is for the best. Thanks for your understanding!