Sloped Summits in the Sky is a ROM hack created by Myrmarachne for the SimpleFlips' Slide Hack Competition (2024) ft. PirateSoftware, in which it placed 40th.
Gameplay[]
This hack contains one very large snowy mountain-themed level with three slide courses in it, all leading to a Star. The slides all start from Mario's starting point in the course, but branch off near the start. To reach the Stars, it is necessary to perform a number of jumps and wallkicks at certain intervals, as well as ride the wind (similar to the upwards wind in vanilla SM64's Cool, Cool Mountain).
This hack contains a custom mechanic. If Mario groundpounds on a slope, it will reset his momentum and direction to be straight forwards (relative to which direction he is facing), and give him a significant speed boost. A small practice slope is provided near Mario's starting point for the player to try this out on, but it is not necessary to use this custom mechanic to complete this hack.
Mario's lives counter has been disabled, and so has fall damage. If Mario falls off the course, he will respawn back at the start of the slide, with no other consequences. There are no coins to collect, nor Secrets to discover. The option to exit course via the pause menu has been disabled.
Overview[]
Mario's starting point is at the top of the mountain, where the Toad's he has travelled with have set up their base camp. They explain that their only reason for being there is that the presence of three Power Stars was detected here, and that Mario is tasked with retrieving them.
After collecting a Star, Mario will be warped back to the beginning of the slide without being given the option to save. After collecting the third and final Star, the player will instead be sent to the endscreen, which shows a mug of hot chocolate, in reference to one of the Toad's dialogue in Base Camp.
One of the Toad's at Base Camp will make a comment in which they wonder about the whereabouts of a particular Toad, one who they claim is quite grouchy. The missing Toad in question can be found on one of the cliffs around Base Camp frozen solid.
Gallery[]
