I wrote a program that lets me convert any file into a valid Map.bin by inserting a header every 3006 bytes. My program defines screens in a spiral shape, so the overall map ends up squareish. Unfortunately, most resulting levels, as you might intuit, aren't terribly interesting: any byte that isn't $00 or $80 corresponds to a non-empty tile, so Layer 3 typically gets completely filled up, resulting in a bunch of wallswim screens with weird tilesets.
But then I got an idea: What if I use this program on the uncompressed Map.bin of
The Machine? It's already a Knytt Stories level, so it already has a structure reminiscent of a Knytt Stories level, after all.
The Machine already has headers, so when
new headers are inserted, the pre-existing headers become part of the map data, and effectively push everything forward by several bytes. The result is a square-shaped level where almost every screen uses Tileset0 and Gradient0 and which starts out looking like The Machine, if you squint, but gets weirder the deeper you go.
As a reference to the header duplication that makes this level what it is, I've decided to name it
Name=The Machine.
This is either a fascinating commentary on the impermanence of digital media and perhaps life itself, ala
Super Mario Movie (not The Super Mario Bros. Movie,
Super Mario Movie), or 538 screens of literal garbage. Your goal is to find a Win tile or get all powerups or traverse all screens or do a backflip or something.
If you play in KS+, some of the invalid objects will become valid objects (I've encountered Triggers and the Sticky-Nojump-Noclimb combination so far), but the minimap will be enabled and the Mapper will be collectible, so have fun with that. (If it doesn't work, just use Force Map On.)
Incidentally, if you have recommendations for any uncompressed file formats that are mostly $00, feel free to share.
Random, but not interesting. The KS equivalent of "monkey banana ninja tacos
". Unless my levels are the equivalent of that. Both?