Neo Mystic Realm revival

[SRB2SuperSonic]

If you've been following SRB2 long enough, you've probably heard of the Mystic Realm level pack. It is the oldest level pack in SRB2's history, more specifically 20 years old this year, as it had been released in 2003 under the name Mystic Level Pack, with three levels included (Jade Coast, called Crawla Isle at the time, Verdant Forest, and Aerial Garden). We've come a very long way since then.

But that doesn't matter right now. You see, after v2.0 of SRB2 released, a community member called Fred began a more extensive update to Mystic Realm, aptly titled Neo Mystic Realm, which at the time, was meant to merge every act of each zone with each other, and their corresponding emerald stage, into one giant level, similarly to how Aerial Garden Zone appears in SRB2 itself. Mystic, the author of Mystic Realm, later took over the project, but he never finished it. I was bit mad about this when I found out about it, so I'm taking matters into my own hands, and creating Neo Mystic Realm myself.

The main focus of the project will be changed: instead of merging each zone and emerald stage with each other, I'm going to revamp every stage to 2.2 standards, like Mystic Realm v6 and CE, but preserving the pack in it's original form, like Mystic Realm v5. These are my plans as of now:

- JCZ, TVZ, VFZ1, and FRZ1 & 3 will be changed to their v6 variations, with some tweaks here and there, such as adding slopes in VFZ1.
- VFZ2 & 3, FRZ2, MFZ, SPZ, and AGZ will be updated to better match the rest of the zones.
- All 7 emerald stages, with the exception of STZ, will be remade from scratch. Starlight Temple will still benefit from new textures, slopes, and an elaborate skybox.
- Inner Sanctum's Mystic Shrine will be in the same location as in v4.2 to v4.6, with a long platforming course along the way.
- PAZ will be changed to allow every character to complete it. It will also benefit from an actual skybox and a new texture set.
- MRZ will now be a 2 act zone, with the Egg Animus fight from v5.0 as Act 1 and the Super Sonic level/Egg Mobile X fight as Act 2.
- The archives will be brought back and remade entirely, albeit still under the name Making of Mystic Realm. Golden Sands Zone will be brought back, though.
- A new challenge stage under the name of Genesis Abyss Zone (not to be confused with Primordial Abyss from MR:CE) will be added.
- The multiplayer maps from Mystic Realm v4.1 to v4.3 will be restored as well as the canned multiplayer maps from SRB2 v1.09.4 all the way to v2.2.
- The Second Quest and Lock-On unlockables will be restored, both having the same quirks as v4.4 and v4.5.
- The emblem system will be updated to v2.2's emblem system, with five emblems in each act and emerald stage. Record Attack emblems WILL NOT be carried over due to being more tedious than even Second Quest.
- The themes from SRB2, such as invincibility and act clear, will be replaced with themes specifically made for Mystic Realm.
- And finally, a new feature added in v4.2 but removed in v4.5 (due to the secret being non-existent in v2.0 onwards), will be added, but only if you visit Inner Sanctum with all seven emeralds and getting perfect bonuses on all 7 emerald stages...

(To get a perfect bonus if you don't know already, collect every ring in a level and then finish the stage without losing those rings)

Okay, poor attempt at being cryptic. What I'm trying to say is, Hyper forms will be restored after being removed in Mystic Realm v4.5. Standard Super form benefits (permanent invincibility, increased speed and jump height, running on water), but with the addition of infinite time underwater, spike breaking, monitor breaking without spinning, and a new move for every character! Those who cannot turn Super already will still get Super forms if they follow the Hyper form unlock method.

That's all I got until I come up with more ideas. I won't be able to do this alone, so help would be appreciated. I, on accident, became fluent in the SOC language last year, so I won't need help with SOC, but I will need help with everything else, especially map making as I lack a proper computer.

Thank you for reading.

 

[SeventhSentinel]

Sorry, but I have to give you a reality check. By the time you have to rely on someone else to do mapping, non-SOC scripts, graphics, etc, and compile all your data into a pk3, you might as well have that person make the entire mod. I really hate to say this, but you just don't have anything substantial to offer a team of modders right now. SOC isn't used for much gameplay-wise anymore, and the things it is used for have example scripts on the wiki that anyone can copy and modify to suit their needs without much effort. That makes this essentially a request for a team of modders to make your mod for you, which is against the rules. (I'm not issuing a warning, though, because you seem genuinely interested in creating mods.)

I hate to burst your bubble, but owning a computer that runs Windows, Mac, or Linux is required to get into SRB2 modding beyond the simplest aspects. I know you don't like it -- and believe me, I don't either -- but that's just how it is until someone comes along and ports Zone Builder or SLADE to work on phones/Chromebooks/etc (which are HUGE tasks that aren't likely to get done soon).

Please don't take this as a sign that you should give up. Try checking your local library or similar building to see if it has computers for public use, and if it does, maybe you could copy SRB2 and SLADE onto your phone or a USB drive and plug it into the library PCs in order to run them and make mods. (I would say you should put Zone Builder on it, too, but you have to install that to run it...) Otherwise, I urge you to find something more immediately accessible for you to channel your creative spark into. If you have a phone, tablet, or Chromebook, you can probably start practicing making art or music, or maybe even 3D modeling, which are all very important assets for mods. Hone whatever skills you can, and then one day when you have a computer, you can take full advantage of your skills for modding purposes. Heck, you can do way more with those skills than just mod SRB2!

If you figure something out, please feel free to post your progress in Works In Progress. After all, the best way to find helpers for modding projects is to show that you are capable of doing a good chunk of the work yourself.

I wish you the best of luck on your creative journey. Here's hoping you'll be able to make your modding ideas come to life sooner rather than later.