Hyper Metroid Less Linear Edition

Original hack "Hyper Metroid" by RealRed

"Less Linear" mod by LexLuthermiester


Before getting to the particulars, I'd first like to express gratitude to the following people 
for their contributions.

	Nintendo for making a most excellent game which is still standing the test of time.

	The good folks who have made the various versions of the SMILE utility which made this mod 
	possible.

	Nightcrawler and all the good folks at RHDN/Datacrystal for having created such an 
	amazing repository/resource of information and utilities.

	Zoasty, Oats&Goats, Ivan and all of the SM racers for being such bosses at Super Metroid 
	speed running and inspiring me to be a better & more creative player and striving for 
	excellence in general.

	RealRed for making such an excellent hack .
	
	Special Thanks to Chloe, ZRM, Spangler & Topus for input and suggestions during devolopment.

	Thanks to Webbhead08 for the post release bug report.

	Last but certainly not least, my wonderful Wife and Children for not only helping with 
	the project but also for being very patient when I got so very focused and lost track 
	of time.

Now to the nitty-gritty.

	Requirements

		Super Metroid rom, without a header. 
		File size;	3072KB[3,145,728 bytes]
		CRC32;		D22C4B35

	Instructions

		Use your favorite IPS patching utility to apply the patch to the rom. 
		LunarIPS is recommended. The file size will change to 4096K. 
		The CRC32 checksum will change also.


Description

		This mod was created out of a long-lived frustration at how linear[limiting] 
	Super Metroid is. While it was not to the extreme Metroid Fusion took linearity[which 
	to be fair was for story telling reasons], SM still has a fair amount. Hyper Metroid 
	took this a bit further while at the same time adding difficulty. This mod aims to 
	remove as much linearity as possible granting the player the freedom to go nearly 
	anywhere from the moment they set foot on Zebes. Additionally, the difficulty was 
	toned down somewhat as well.

		Missile, Super Missile and Super Bomb triggered doors have been changed to 
	regular doors where possible. Some gray doors have also been removed. Many "trigger switch"
	gates have been removed. There have been many landscape changes in various locations, 
	item movement and other tweaks to make the game more fluid and less irritating. These 
	changes are not so dramatic as to change the "feel" of the game to any great degree.

		Due to technical limitations with how SMILE interfaced with the game ROM, certain
	parts of Hyper Metroid could not easily be edited. A few areas could not be accessed at all.
	This means that certain elements of the game which I would have liked to change have gone
	untouched. Some areas could be fully edited while other allowed for only minor changes. This
	has much to do with the extensive ASM changes the Hyper Metroid includes, and sadly, I do
	not have the time to dig in and learn how to make the changes by hand. Otherwise I likely
	would have.

		These changes made seem like they would make the game easier, but this is not always
	true. You, the game player, will now have more freedom to go to areas of the game you might
	not be equipped properly for. This will present added dangers and risks. The landscape
	has been modified[as much as possible] so that if you go to an area you needed an item to 
	exit from, you will still be able to exit. In other words, the terrain has been changed to 
	prevent players from getting stuck anywhere. Some enemies have been added to some select 
	rooms but no damage/hp stats have been changed. Some items were moved to make room to account
	for or accommodate terrain changes. The morph-ball and the bomb are always a good set of 
	items to get first. While infinite bomb jumping and other such ultra difficult tricks are not 
	needed either, they can't hurt. Wall-jumping however is a skill you will need if the 
	High-jump boots are not at the top of your list of items to get first. And Maridia without 
	the Gravity suit will, as always, be a severe pain.

		This mod was made out of a love of Hyper Metroid and the fun of playing it. 
	It is my sincerest wish that everyone enjoys this "mod" of another hack!

Troubleshooting

		Should any bugs or problems with the mod be discovered, please reply at 
	http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,22903.0.html or PM me through 
	RHDN[account required]. I or someone else who worked on the project will happily look 
	into the problem in a timely manner.

Side Note

		The included map was not originally made by me. It was moddified to reflect the 
	changes made to Hyper Metroid. NOT taking credit for the original map! I've look around
	the net but can't seem to find where it came from[orginally found it on Google Images] or
	who made it. If any one knows and/or the maker chimes in I will happily give credit where
	it's due. 

Additional Side Note

		Some people have asked why I have used the term "mod" instead of hack. This is 
	due to the fact that no actual "hacking" of any of the game code was done. As referred 
	to above, an editor was used for the entire effort. The editor made all of the changes. 
	Therefore, this effort is a "mod" rather than a "hack". There has been a general difference 
	of opinion within game hacking/modding community for many years. This is my point of 
	view and no offense is intended to anyone who has a different perspective.