NOTE: MOD DEVELOPMENT IS BEING PAUSED, AS I WANT TO REWORK IT TO BE MORE CONSISTENT WITH THIS: https://kuribo64.net/board/thread.php?id=2862
Here goes,

This is a mod I'm making for NSMB2, that is similar to NSLU in that every course is 100 seconds long (except for boss levels due to clock not showing).

Features:

- All new levels with the same themes as the other mod.
- Play as Luigi!
- Harder!
- Less time!
- Custom Tilesets!
- Custom Music!

Current progress: Paused

Downloads:
Soon

How to play:

1. Go to https://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-nsmb2-custom-levels-mods-the-easier-way.437207/
2. On the first post, download braindump and the romfs pack.
3. Copy the braindump old to your 3ds folder on your SD.
4. Go to the homebrew channel, open braindump, and select NSMB2. (Digital or physical)
5. When it's finished, insert the SD into your PC and copy the folder that's a bunch of letters and numbers to somewhere safe.
6. Open the ROMFS extractor, and load the romfs.bin file found in that weirdly named folder.
7. Download the release you want above, and copy everything inside to the romfs_ folder.
8. Replace everything if it asks.
9. Go to ROMFS builder, and open your folder. Before you hit go, copy one of the following:

NSMB2:

EUR - 0007AF00.romfs

USA - 0007AE00.romfs

JPN - 0007AD00.romfs

NSMB2 Gold Edition:

USA - 00137E00.romfs

NSMB2 Special Edition:

EUR - 00137F00.romfs

JPN - 00137D00.romfs

10. Then hit go, and when it asks where to save, paste the correct name from above and save it.
11. On your sd card, create a folder called hans, and move the new romfs file into it.
12. Launch hans, select NSMB2, and then hold L.
13. Change the region to the game region, go down to romfs -> sd, and set it to yes.
14. Go to OK, press A, and you're in! (Have fun)


Have fun!

List Of Changes:

REWORKING IN PROGRESS

Posted by Hiccup

You probably won't get any direct help from people, only advice.
Such as: have you tried CoinKiller?

Yes, CoinKiller is what I use for this. I can't get paths to work, so I use ReggieNEXT for that. Until I compile CoinKiller from source, when Qt actually wants to install.

Posted by Imnotstaple

Very nice project. I can help, if you'd like.

Sure! Just send a PM my way with the required info in it

Posted by Imnotstaple

The latest build of CK:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aiuqi8N3vGqSlifEFfRcqhUT9mEZ

Thanks! This will be useful! Also, since the folder contains files banned from GBATemp, I uploaded the release part of the folder on my drive to use in my guide. If you disagree with any of this, I can take it down.

Posted by StapleButter

Looks good, keep up the good work.


Side note: why are the screenshots in a spoiler?

I originally thought they would collapse into one button but it seems it just takes the same amount of space, I'll fix it.

Posted by Hiccup

The levels do look nice visually, but they don't play well - unfortunately.

Honestly that's true. The main problem was that until now I for some reason didn't know how to let the camera scroll vertically. In the next release (From now on they'll be released in worlds) I'll improve on the first few levels.Thanks for providing your feedback!

Here's a tutorial on how to use CoinKiller!

NOTE: The download for CoinKiller and the tutorial on making your own mod is here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-nsmb2-custom-levels-mods-the-easier-way.437207/

This is only a tutorial for MAKING LEVELS.

Without further ado, let's begin!

So, you have CoinKiller set up with all the latest sprite data, but, how do you make levels?
Here's how. (Make a backup of your original romfs before attempting this)

1. Choosing a level to replace

Here we're going to replace 1-1. Open CoinKiller, load your romfs folder, expand world 1, and go to 1-1. You should see this:


If you see it, good!

2. Level properties

On the left side of the screen, you should see a panel full of level options. Here's what they do:

- Time Limit: Controls the amount of time you have when playing the level
- Coin Rush Time Limit: Same as above, but for coin rush
- Level Setting 1 & 2: Don't touch these if possible
- Toad House Flag: Don't touch this either

Now for the 4 panels below. They should be labeled Standard, Stage, Background, and Interactive.

This is where you choose the tileset for your level.

Standard controls the question mark blocks, pipes, and that kind of stuff.

Stage controls the main tileset for the ground and ceiling blocks.

Background: These can be extra background tiles, or a full mushroom tileset.

Interactive: Fences and rails.

What about the icons above? What do they do? Here's what:

Gear: Level properties

File Cabinet: All your tileset choices! (They are labeled 1 - 4) These are used to place blocks!

Goomba: Enemies, events, and that kind of stuff.

Door: Entrances and Exits. We'll cover those in a second.

Light Blue Box: Zones, we'll cover those too.

Dark Blue Box: Locations.

Empty Box 1: Paths.

Empty Box 2: Progress Paths. These control that little moving mario on the bottom screen showing how close to the end you are. These need to be placed in specific places!

3. Making a level!

At the top of the screen, next to Layer 1 & 2, there's a drop down menu of areas. We'll cover this in a second.

For now, press the red X, and click OK. You just deleted an area! Keep doing this until it says you can not delete any more areas. To get around this, make a new area with the green plus.
You should be on Area 2 now. Using the drop-down menu, switch to Area 1, and delete it.

Congratulations! You made a blank area!

Q: What's an area though?
A: An area is used when you want to make a section of a level with a different tileset.

Q: What's a zone?
A: A zone is used to change the music, background, and is where you actually make the level!

4. Forgot to mention, now that we made a blank area, you need to set up the level properties again.

Switch to the tileset panel (File cabinet icon),and you should now see this: (I'm using the overworld tileset)



Now, time to make our level! In the left hand panel, click on the light blue box, this is the zone panel. Right click anywhere on the screen now, and you should see a white box! While you're at it, click the grid icon at the top to enable grid view.

You should see this:



If you NOW look at the left side of the screen, you will see a background! Change it to whatever you want. Now look above that, you can change the music! If you want the screen on your 3ds to scroll vertically on the level as well as horizontally, check Scroll Vertically.

Fun fact, the 3ds screen is 36 blocks wide and 12 blocks tall!

Anyway this level will be really short right now. Drag the zone to the right to expand it!

Now to add the goal pole. Go to the enemies panel, and click on the drop-down menu. Select All (Sorted By Number) and in the search box type in goal. Once you find it, right click once on the zone to place the goal. Move it to the end of the level, making sure the castle is touching the level boundaries on the right. It should look something like this:



Now, to place tiles under the goal! Go into the tileset panel (file cabinet) choose a tile, and right click anywhere in the zone to place the tile. Congrats! You can stretch this one tile as much as you want, but make sure it looks good! Anyway, see the buttons that say Layer 1 and Layer 2 in the panel? You can switch between them! Anything you place on layer 2 becomes part of the background, and is not solid. It goes behind layer 1. Use it for things like backgrounds and flowers.

Here's what I came up with for the goal:



Fun fact: If you press and drag the right mouse button when placing a tile, you can resize it quicker! Use this for coins and stuff.

Now for the entrance! How do you actually make Mario play the level? Here's how:

Go to the beginning of the zone (far left) , and place some blocks for Mario to start on.

Next, go to the entrances panel. (Door)

Then right click on top of the ground to place one entrance. Move it so that it's on top of the ground, and click on it once. You should now see its properties on the left panel. Uncheck enterable and change dest area to 1. Tada! Mario can now play your level! Here's my final result:



Play around with this as much as you like! Make the level! Here's a how to do entrances and exits:

Entrance settings:



Exit Settings:



Pipes In General: (Doors entrances go in the middle)



Next you need to set up a progress path, it's the second blank icon panel. Place one on the space next to the entrance on the right side, and the other one at the bottom of the goal pole on the right side. Set the first progress path's ID to 1, and in the zone settings, set progress path ID to 1. Never start with 0. Screenshots:

Entrance placement:



Goal Placement:



There, that was the basic tutorial! Feel free to tell me anything I did wrong or something I should add!

Posted by Hiccup

The levels do look nice visually, but they don't play well - unfortunately.

I've improved on the first few levels in the newest release. If you want you can try it and tell me if it's still hard to play.

Posted by Hiccup

It wasn't that the levels were hard - they were very easy. They just weren't enjoyable.

Alright, most the levels are not meant to be difficult, but I will try and make it more challenging. Thanks for the feedback!

Posted by TRS

Hiccup isn't saying the levels need to be any easier or harder. He's saying they're just not fun. Making your levels easier or harder won't really help that.

Ah, it probably doesn't help that the levels are a tiny bit rushed and that I'm helping out with a different mod as well. I'll be sure to spend more time creating them, so people will have to wait for releases, but they'll be better in the end. Thank you all for your feedback.

If you forgot where everything is, and are too lazy to pull out your 3DS and check, here are some (low quality) labelled world maps. Enjoy!

Posted by gridatttack

Why are some images small? Lack of source?

In any case, 2 things:
1. Spoilers don't work here to hide content like at other forum software.
2. Any chance to recolor the text to red for levels that have secret exits? Would be more useful.

Thanks regardless, should prove helpful (for me at least, because it's been ages since I played this game :v)

Yeah I know that spoilers don't work the same here. Just for someone who accidentally stumbles onto this page and doesn't want spoilers.

Lack of source was a problem. As for the text, I used MS Paint so I guess I could. I swear I've seen you somewhere before... xD

Posted by Hiccup

Paint.NET is easier to use than MSPaint and more powerful - I highly recommend it. GIMP is even more powerful but it is a pain to use.

Posted by gridatttack

I see.

Well, just another thing. Try to use something other than MS paint for more features. I personally use Paint.NET and it works fine for my usage, but other people recommends GIMP too.

You could try resizing the images to a suitable reading level via those programs.

And it's likely. I'm on other boards related to rom hacking, so maybe you've seen my username there :>

I actually have Paint.NET installed, and used it for some tileset editing, I just use MS Paint for adding text for stuff. The image sources were low quality, so scaling it up would look awful. Explos is working on some world maps, so those might look better.

UPDATE 2: We really need tileset designers! If you can make tilesets that are in the NSMB style, and fit the game, feel free to submit an application via PM. (Please do include proof of work!) We also need a name! Remember, if your name gets picked, you'll also be in the credits!


UPDATE 1: Everyone who's helping out, thank you! We now have a website over at http://nsmb2mod.rf.gd so you should check that out too.

What is this mod?

This mod is a full mod for NSMB2, featuring Mario & Luigi, with a couple of new worlds, and newly textured world maps! A lot of progress has been made already, but we do need people to help out! There's also a Luigi version, and when the time comes, we'll open applications for that too.

Features:
- 96 brand new levels!
- 6 new world themes!
- New enemies!

What we need people to help with:

- Music
- ASM Hacking
- Modeling
- 2D Graphics

It is important that we have people with these skills that treat it seriously. (Not saying you'll do it and then do nothing for 2 months)

Weekly level image (Every Saturday):

Anyway, getting to the main point:

If you want to help out with anything listed above, please send me a PM.
I'll check them as frequently as I can.

What you should include in the PM:

-Amount of experience you have in what you want to help with
-Any past work you've done
-Anything we need to know

If you get accepted we'll send a PM back with some special info.

So, that's pretty much it!
Well, except for one thing...

We need a name for the mod! Anyone not helping can go ahead and suggest names below, it would be appreciated greatly! (Plus you'd get a credits feature)

People helping out:
newluigidev , explos , pumpkin_pips , C-lector , Imnotstaple , TheSaturnyoshi , NightYoshi370 , Alerdy , Toms , Gota7 , Mayro , Epic_stuff , shibboleet , Gimzie , Meorge , Phosphene
TELL ME IF I DIDN'T LIST YOU HERE!

Gimzie, reporting out!


How much of the mod is done? 17.24% (We have a spreadsheet. )

Posted by Mariomaster

Now I know where I saw your 2 levels again

Anyways, your level design seems quite nice, just a bit 'crowdy' at some points here and there.

What 2 levels? *lenny* ( ° ʖ °)

Posted by StapleButter

Mh, interesting level design.


I'm not sure I can help at all right now, though.

Mh? Is that some new form of Hm?

How many games have you modded?

Posted by maor322

I can playtest it.

And what most hackers forget about hacking this game is that there is a pre-installed "Gold Edition" for the game and people only test the game out on the real version. I can help port it to the "Gold Edition"

What NSMB2 really needs is a SaltySD mod for NSMB2.

Don't worry, we got ya covered.

If you want to help out, just send a PM my way.

Posted by MusiMasta

Indeed a huge NSMB2 hack. Anyways, hopefully this gets finished and good luck! Keep up the good work!

Thanks! The mod is going great, and progress is being made! (I'll post some teaser or something this week. Hopefully, don't count on it.)

Posted by explos

We gotta add a lot of people to the credits, there are still 6 people that aren't listed.
The mods website is more up to date than this thread, although it still has to be updated some.

Updated, more so than the website.

Very casual bump...

Levels are generally unfun to play, with no level themes, soundtrack is inconsistent, and according to invisible solid blocks and Layer 2 blocks, this mod was never tested before release.

Posted by StapleButter

While it's nice that you're giving criticism, no need to add that kind of comments.

Also, what's with your title? Why do you need to brag about how someone hates you?

Sorry then. :/