Game Club 199X #18 - Home Improvement (SNES)

[kal]

This game bothers me, it feels like if they had have tweaked the ICE GROUND physics just a little bit and tuned the bouncing nuts and bolts to be more forgiving (ala Sonic) this game would actually be halfway decent, even with the labyrinthine level designs. What a missed opportunity.

[muteKi]

Figure since this game doesn't want people to play it I'll share the teensy little bits of dialogue between worlds. Here's the one after you beat world 2:

Randy (JTT): Nice work Dad! What does that thing do, anyway?
Al: This isn't just any tool, Randy. It's the Binford-Taylor Turbo Power Ripper, a unique new piece of equipment...
Tim: Al!! Cool it!! We've got real problems! The wacko who hid the tools left another note!!
Al: Let me see that, Tim. "You will shortly join this tool in its ancient resting place..." I wonder if they are referring to the Temple of Tools.
Tim: The Temple of Tools!! Of course!! [What]
Randy: Dad, can we go with you?
Tim: I'm afraid not, son. It's much too dangerous.
Randy: I'm not a baby!
Tim: I know, Randy, but someone has to take care of Al!

[xerxes]

So, it turns out that there's nothing even sorta funny about playing Home Improvement. GC9X bylaws strictly forbid us from using save states, Game Genie, etc. An unwritten rule also forbids us from quitting a game mid-month simply because we don't want to keep playing it. This is because frustrating games often make for the most interesting discussions. Case in point: Electro Man.

However, there's nothing in the GC9X bylaws, written or unwritten, that forbids us from FIXING an unfun game. And one of the most maddening things about playing Home Improvement is that it is so tantalizingly close to being playable.

So for April 2013, we're gonna use our time-tested, thread-based/IRC-supplemented teamwork to create a rom hack: Home Improvement: Improved.

Here's my laundry list of things I want to try to fix:

1. Unlimited continues.

2. Weapons deal more damage.

3. Longer-lasting power-ups.

4. Slower level timer.

5. No more icy-ground physics.

6. Story adjustments to fit game into series canon, taking its rightful place between seasons three and four.

So how 'bout it, nerds?

[Snarboo]

This is a brilliant idea! Something I'd like to see is a more logical control scheme. Perhaps running could be on L, the grappling hook on R, shooting on Y, jumping on B, and shooting at an angle on X and A.

Edit:
I think I'll turn this into a general wishlist and hack progress post once we've gotten enough suggestions.

[steven]

Apr 8, 2013 23:09:46 GMT -5 kal said:

This game bothers me, it feels like if they had have tweaked the ICE GROUND physics just a little bit and tuned the bouncing nuts and bolts to be more forgiving (ala Sonic) this game would actually be halfway decent, even with the labyrinthine level designs. What a missed opportunity.

Kal, that's what I'm talking about, man. A lot of hate is thrown at this game, but few will admit that with a little tweaking it actually could have been semi-decent. I think most play it for 15 minutes, get turned off and think it's total crap. However, if you invest more than an hour, you will see it's somewhat playable in the first couple levels, until things get too cheap/difficult for the average gamer.

It's nice to see this game get that side of reaction... because people are actually sticking with it rather than turning it off after 15 minutes. That's why I believe while yes, the game is BAD, it's not nearly as bad as the worst crap on the SNES, or, as bad as most people claim it is.

@ X, I would love to see such a rom hack! Those tweaks would make HI a decent game

[Ryusui]

Behold: Home Improvement GC9X Edition (WIP).

dl.dropbox.com/u/74940256/hi-gc9x.ips

At present, this patch file makes the following changes:

1. Timer decreases at half speed.
2. Four lives per continue instead of 3.
3. Infinite continues.

I don't know if I'll be able to implement any serious gameplay changes, but modifying values like this shouldn't be too hard. :3

[muteKi]

I'd suggest we also figure out how the fuck to increase the acceleration and deceleration so it's not slippery as fuck.

[Snarboo]

Physics are going to be a lot harder to tweak unfortunately, but we've already made headways into making this piece of shit playable!

Edit:
Good God it's amazing how much more fun this game is with a few simple tweaks.

[Feynman]

Now we need to increase weapon damage or decrease enemy health, because standing under a dinosaur/scorpion/ghost and spamming the attack button for 30 seconds straight is so damn boring.

EDIT: And by "we" I of course mean somebody who knows what the fuck they're doing when it comes to romhacking, because I sure as hell don't. Nicley done Ryusui for making the game more playable already!

Also!

Apr 10, 2013 0:36:56 GMT -5 steven said:

Kal, that's what I'm talking about, man. A lot of hate is thrown at this game, but few will admit that with a little tweaking it actually could have been semi-decent. I think most play it for 15 minutes, get turned off and think it's total crap. However, if you invest more than an hour, you will see it's somewhat playable in the first couple levels, until things get too cheap/difficult for the average gamer.

It's nice to see this game get that side of reaction... because people are actually sticking with it rather than turning it off after 15 minutes. That's why I believe while yes, the game is BAD, it's not nearly as bad as the worst crap on the SNES, or, as bad as most people claim it is.

@ X, I would love to see such a rom hack! Those tweaks would make HI a decent game

This applies to a lot of bad games, sadly. The world is filled with awful games that have juuuuuust enough potential that they could conceivably be salvaged into something reasonably fun.

[nickz]

Apr 10, 2013 2:29:50 GMT -5 Ryusui said:

Behold: Home Improvement GC9X Edition (WIP).

dl.dropbox.com/u/74940256/hi-gc9x.ips

At present, this patch file makes the following changes:

1. Timer decreases at half speed.
2. Four lives per continue instead of 3.
3. Infinite continues.

I don't know if I'll be able to implement any serious gameplay changes, but modifying values like this shouldn't be too hard. :3

That's incredible! The game's difficulty is actually a lot more manageable with the more forgiving timer. The infinite continues should help me too. I end up accidentally falling into bottomless pits more than I would care to admit.

[doctorallosaurus]

I hate myself so I'm gonna stick with the original version for the rest of this week, if I don't make good progress then I'll play the hacked version.

[Snarboo]

Home Improvement: Improved


The post that started this madness!

I'm creating this post to act as a dumping ground for general information on this hack. It will include a link to the latest version, as well as the current features and wishlist.


Current Version:
Home Improvement: More Power! Edition (WIP)

Current Features:

1. Timer decreases at half speed.
2. Four lives per continue instead of 3.
3. Infinite continues.
4. More sensible control scheme.

Wishlist (From Most Likely to Least Likely):

1. Player starts with nail gun.
2. Longer-lasting power-ups.
3. Weapons deal more damage / Enemies have less health.
4. No more icy-ground physics.
5. Music that doesn't sound like a collection of twangy farts.
6. Better designed levels instead of horrible death traps.
7. Story adjustments to fit game into series canon, taking its rightful place between seasons three and four.

Pipe Dream Features That Will Never Be Implemented:

1. Superfluous RPG Elements.
2. Tim Allen replaced with Sonic the Hedgehog.
3. Microphone support: grunting into the microphone bestows special powers to Tim.

[dooz]

This is a genius idea.

[nickz]

It's kind of cool how Home Improvement is a game about TV handymen who are real DIY guys and the hack is sort of like "fixing it up", like how TV handymen would fix up a room in a house. I'm sure there's some kind of joke or pun you could make about it, but I'm having problems thinking of one.

[Ryusui]

I'm actually pretty sure #8 on that list would be pretty easy, if "story adjustments" means "tweak some of the dialogue."

Also, 'bout "more sensible control scheme." What's the control scheme like now, and what should it look like? Because that's actually not a hard thing to tweak. :3