This hack and its article contain references to the following sensitive content:
► Injury detail and/or gore
Warped Worlds is a series of personalized ROM hack builds created by jefftasticgames (AKA, Jefftastic, jeff fantastic). These hacks, along with Jefftastic's sm64.z64, would later go on to inspire many of the areas and levels in B3313.
The Warped Worlds project has been made open-source by its creator; all of its assets and programming can be viewed via the first link listed in the infobox to the right.
A GitHub user by the name soupnuts6061 has compiled a .bps patch using the files and assets available on Jefftastic's GitHub pages, allowing some insight into what the hack may have looked like given more time.
Decomp and Binary Demo Differences[]
The final version of Warped Worlds to be released prior to this project's cancellation was the decomp demo; the file contains the date 03-18-2021. This version of Warped Worlds contains 16 Stars for the player to collect.
There are a number of new custom features that have been added, and the levels themselves have been significantly expanded upon. One of these features new to the decomp demo is that the player can now freely switch between playing as Mario and playing as Luigi, by pressing L at any time. Playing as Luigi allows for a wider variety of jumps and manoeuvres to be performed, but he is unable to wallkick like Mario.
The binary demo for Warped Worlds is an older version of the project, hence the lower amount of specialised features and mechanics. Although it has less Stars to collect, there are more hub areas for the player to explore, and a lot of optional dialogue the player can read to learn more about this world.
Decomp Demo[]
Decomp Demo Levels/Areas[]
| Area ID | Name | Stars | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Daffodil Meadow | 7 | Through the left door in the main room, then into the painting. |
| C2 | Flying Fortress | 7 | Thwomp painting at the dark end of the main room. |
| SC | Dancing In The Lights | 1 | Through the right doors in the main room. |
| SC | Legacy Fortress | 1 | From this hack's title screen/main menu, select 'Extras', then Legacy Fortress and a file to play on. |
| OW | Inside the Castle | 0 | Starting point after selecting a file. |
| OW | Castle Grounds | 0 | The door behind Mario's Starting point after selecting a file. |
Main Menu[]
One of the first new features noticed when playing the decomp demo is the custom game menu. From here, the player can navigate to sub-menus to view, edit and open files; access the game's options; listen to the Warped Worlds soundtrack, and view extra content.
By selecting options, the player can choose to enable "AI Mode", or to switch between stereo and mono audio. It is currently unclear what the effect of AI mode has- if any at all- and if it needs activating each time the hack is booted up, given that the options menu settings apply to the entire hack, and are not file-specific.
Jukebox[]
From the main menu, the player can listen to the Warped Worlds soundtrack by selecting "Jukebox". All of the songs included in the jukebox are either original compositions or remixes of songs from the Super Mario franchise.
- M30 - Castle lobby (binary demo)
- M25 - The Warped Worlds remix of Slider, from the SM64 OST.
- M23 - Piranha Plant lullaby
- M1 - Not known
- 01 - Daffodil Meadow
- 02 - The Internal Fortress
- 03 - Castle lobby (decomp demo)
- 04 - Dancing In The Lights
- 05 - Castle Grounds (decomp demo)
- 06 - Warped Worlds main theme
- 07 - Daffodil Meadow
- 08 - Not known
- 09 - Brawl With The Deadly Prince
- 10 - World Behind The Waterfall
- 11 - Missing?
- 12 - Not known, possibly a variation of Inside the Castle.
The Keys[]
In the HUD for the decomp demo, there are three dark keys under Mario's Star counter. The keys themselves are golden and spin in much the same manner as Power Stars; they have two faces on them- the standard dual beady eyes on one side, and upturned eye-like dashes on the other side.
The Key in Flying Fotress
So far, only one of these three keys have been found. While playing on Acts 4, 5 or 6 in Flying Fortress, the first key can be found under the wooden scaffolding bridge. Collecting the key will not warp Mario out of the level, nor prompt the player to save, which unfortunately means it will only remain in play until the save file is exited, or the game ended.
Having tested some of the requirements, I've confirmed that enabling AI mode does not seem to be required to find the key.
The D-Pad can be used to manipulate the player's key count. By pressing down and up on the D-Pad, the player can toggle between having all three keys, having only the first key, and having none.
Content not added to official demos[]
Due to the source code and assets for the Warped Worlds project being open source, an individual named soupnuts6061 created a patch using the content available on Jefftastic's GitHub that hadn't yet been added to the official demo releases.
Thanks to this individual, fans of the project are able to play through some of the unreleased content that was yet to come.
This section of the Warped Worlds article is dedicated to documenting the content seen in soupnuts6061's patch. Please do bear in mind that the trigger warning at the top of this article is pretty much exclusive to this section. For information on Legacy Fortress and the version of it included in soupnuts6061's patch, see Legacy Fortress#SM64WW LAST BUILD.
This is a secret course taking place on what appears to be a mountain made of skin and gore. Flesh Mountain is currently exclusive to the SM64WW LAST BUILD version.
There is one Star Mario can collect here, hidden in a long dark cave where the blood river emerges from. Collecting this Star will take the player to a unique error screen, thus making it the only Star in the game with no way to save the progress.
Pausing the game while in this course will show that it still retains the area name from vanilla SM64, Wing Mario Over the Rainbow.
Currently, the only known way to access Flesh Mountain is to be warped there by random chance after soft-resetting the game- although the chances of being warped here instead of being sent back to the main menu are very low. The easiest and fastest way to perform a soft-reset of the game (from within the game itself) is to enter Legacy Fortress, then die by jumping off the level.
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Also referred to as the Devil's Machine, this is a secret course taking place inside of a very dark room. Devil's Engine is currently exclusive to the SM64WW LAST BUILD version. |
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The Devil's Engine consists of a very dark room with three TV sets on either side of an enormous, anatomically-correct human heart. Four of the six TV sets show nothing but static, but two of them each display a clear view of the Castle Grounds. Both views are in black and white, and show a unique viewpoint from opposite ends of the Castle Grounds.
The giant heart positioned between the TVs has two dial indicators on its front, each with a spinning red arrow. The heart is actively pumping blood, and it can be heard in the area's ambient noises. There is an invisible wall blocking Mario from directly interacting with the TVs and the heart, and from walking around behind them.
Interestingly, Devil's Engine occupies the area ID for the Wing Cap course, Tower of the Wing Cap.
Currently, the only known way to access Devil's Engine is to be warped there by random chance after soft-resetting the game- although the chances of being warped here instead of being sent back to the main menu are very low. The easiest and fastest way to perform a soft-reset of the game (from within the game itself) is to enter Legacy Fortress, then die by jumping off the level.
Binary Demo[]
| Area ID | Name | Stars | Requirements | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | ? (That's the name of the course, it's "?") | 0 | 1 Star | Collect a Star in Daffodil Meadow. |
| C2 | Flying Fortress | 7 | None | Main foyer, centre door. |
| C4 | Cold, Cold Crevasse | 0 | Inside the Castle, through Elder Koopa's Library, and down the chasm in the backroom. | |
| SC | Daffodil Meadow | 2 | Internal Garden, rooftop door. | |
| SC | Hollow Horror Halls | 3 | Main foyer's left door; through the door at the top of the stairs; then the right door in the courtyard. | |
| SC | Delicious Cake | 0 | Wing Cap | Enter the Japanese symbol painting round the side of the Castle, in the area with the balcony overlooking the clouds and rainbows. |
| B1(?) | Bowser In The Broken Realm | 1 | 8 Stars | Enter the hole in front of the Koopa in Bowser's domain. |
| OW | Inside the Castle | 0 | None | Enter the warp pipe in the Castle Grounds. |
| OW | Castle Grounds | 0 | Starting point after selecting a file. | |
| OW | Bowser's Domain | 0 | 8 Stars | Main foyer's left door; through the door at the top of the stairs; then the left Star door in the courtyard. |
Course 4: Cold, Cold Crevasse[]
The entrance for this course is in a room behind Elder Koopa's Library; it is a pit with the Cool Cool Mountain painting hanging on the other side. There is a signpost next to the pit:
!! WARNING !! Anomalous crevasse below. Watch your step!
This course seems to have not been added, as selecting the first Act will freeze the screen. The music for the level can be heard, but there are no visuals and no sounds of movement from the player. The only Act available is called "Rescuing Tuxie". This level is/was likely to be inspired by a part of the Super Mario 64 Iceberg.
Delicious Cake[]
Opening the pause menu in this level will reveal that its name is actually Wing Mario Over the Rainbow, although it seems likely that it was supposed to be Delicious Cake based on the entry message:
Welcome to the Delicious Cake! Watch out for the rolling cherries, see if you can make it to the top! You surely won't forget this gigantic sweet!
This is a Secret Course accessible via a painting on the side of a wall on the balcony of Peach's room, note that you need the Wing Cap to access this level and the painting design is a basic Japanese character. The level itself is a giant and simplistic white and yellow cake on a wooden surface floating in a dark void. The cake shares similarities with Bob-Omb Battlefield's mountain, as it has metal balls rolling down to halt your progress. The cake also has two holes similar to the warping holes in BoB's mountain, although the cake's holes have no warping property. On top of the cake is a giant cherry.
Course 1: ?[]
This area is a completely dark room with a lone grey door. Entering this door warps the player back to the hub. While here, pausing the game will show that Mario is in Course 1, name ?, and that there is supposedly a Star to collect in this level. However, given that there is no obtainable Star, this information cannot be viewed after exiting the level. Choosing to exit the level via the pause menu will warp Mario to the main foyer of the Castle. Arguably, the most important part of this level is the message that greets Mario upon warping to it:
Hello! This is an "Error Message". If you're reading this, you might have encountered a bug! Please be sure to contact our support line, which is available in the manual.
[2 blank boxes]
...
[1 blank box]
You know what is happening, and I can tell.
There isn't any point in trying to deny the fact that what is happening isn't normal.
...
I may not be there for you anymore, but at least our memories together live on.
Right? There wouldn't be any other reason that im here with you now. I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together.
...
If you're still listening, I need you to remember this.
"placeholder code"
... Until next time.
Warped Worlds, the Project[]
REMINDER: Do not bother Jefftastic about the possibility of reviving the Warped Worlds project, and definitely do not pry into his personal life and/or associations regarding the project's cancellation and his exit from the community. We all deserve to have our privacy, and Jefftastic has made it clear that he wishes for his privacy to be respected.
On the 19th March 2021[1], Jefftastic uploaded a text file to GitHub titled Update README.md. In it, he gave an update to those following along with the project, and explaining his reasoning for bringing his involvement with Warped Worlds to an end, citing problems regarding the SM64 community and his discomfort with certain individuals in it, and the personal and confidential information they had on him[2].
Based off of the age given on Jefftastic's RHDC user profile page, it can be deduced that at the time, he was approximately 16 years of age. Rumours have also circulated regarding his departure from the SM64 community, including a rumour that he was doxxed by a member of this community. If this is assumed to be at least partways true, then in conjunction with his given age and reasonings, the Warped Worlds project came to a premature close as a result of the creator's online and offline privacy as a minor being put at risk by one or more members of the community.
During April 2024, Jefftastic replied to a comment thread on the decomp demo's RHDC page that provides insight into the circumstances of the project's premature ending, and into Jefftastic's own feelings towards the project.
The original commentor claims to have a more complete version of Legacy Fortress in their possession, and is requesting permission to upload it. Jefftastic refuses to give them permission, and, after being bothered by another user in the same thread about the issue, he references having personal issues with the original commentor that are unrelated to the Warped Worlds project. He also explains that those issues are the reason that he refuses to be associated with the original commentor, nor have them involved with his work.
Jefftastic's last comment in the thread states the following: "If you want more content, either compile the source release or go play something that isnt the half baked product of a bunch of young teenagers; at the end of the day thats all that this ever was and we've all moved onto better projects." From this, it could be ascertained that Jefftastic does not look back on the Warped Worlds project with much fondness, nor does he hold it in high regard.
Interestingly, this is a stark contrast to a reply he wrote one month prior (approx. March 2024) to a commentor on the binary demo's RHDC page who requested permission to make a green Star edit of the binary demo. In response, Jefftastic thanked them for their interest and wished them luck with their edit. Possible explanations for this: during the month between his two comments, something happened which soured his view of the project. Alternatively, it may be that Jefftastic views the binary demo more favourably. However, the explanation is likely as simple as this: given Jefftastic's personal issues with the commentor on the decomp demo, and the (a bit uncalled-for) reply from another commentor supporting them, he lashed out against his own project in the heat of the moment.
REMINDER: Do not bother Jefftastic about the possibility of reviving the Warped Worlds project, and definitely do not pry into his personal life and/or associations regarding the project's cancellation and his exit from the community. We all deserve to have our privacy, and Jefftastic has made it clear that he wishes for his privacy to be respected.
Files of Interest[]
By exploring the files uploaded by the creator to GitHub, it is possible to gain some insight into what may have been future additions to the project, as well as the in-game lore driving the plot. Here are some points of interest I've uncovered:
- By looking at the Maps file folder in the sources folder, we can see that there are .blend and .blend1 maps provided for areas called "Flesh Mountain" and "Infected Castle".
- By viewing the folder at sources > Misc, we can see that there are .blend and .blend1 files for something called "Devils Machine". In the same folder, there is also a .blend file provided alongside beta Mario's files called "Beta Mario Dark", although this could be related to shadows, UV mapping, etc, rather than referring to a separate character or entity.
- Some of the files associated with the key that can be found in Decomp demo's Flying Fortress can be found in their actors folder.
- Some of the files associated with the Power Stars, such as the 2D textures used for them, can also be found in their actors folder.
- The complete dialogue bank for the US edition can be found here. Many of the messages that have been change from vanilla SM64 can be found near the bottom.