SUPER MARIO EPIC 2: Dream Machine
By Jeff Silvers Software
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CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Story
3. Gameplay
4. Loading and Saving Games
5. Common Enemies
6. Power-Ups and Items
7. Hints and Notes
8. Credits
9. Boring Legal Stuff
10. Shameless Site Plugs
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1. INTRODUCTION

Thank you for downloading Super Mario Epic 2: Dream Machine!  SME2 is (obviously) the sequel to Super Mario Epic, my first fangame, released in April 2003.  The original Super Mario Epic featured an extremely primitive engine but pretty good level design, and won me a Shyguy182 Award in 2003 for Best Rookie Fangamer, as well as an MFGG Award for Best Secret (Luigi was hidden in the last level).

I began work on SME2 on May 23, 2003.  I expected production to take about six months, but it actually ended up taking me a year and three months (MFGG admin ShadowMan dubbed it "Half-Life Epic 2" because of the neverending delays).  SME1 may've been my first fangame, but I consider this to be my first *good* fangame. I really am satisfied with the final outcome and I hope you are, too.  I also hope you'll download SME1, if for no other reason than to at least see how well I've progressed. :)
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2. STORY

After Mario last defeated Bowser, the Mushroom Kingdom returned to a state of peace.  The Mushroom People were finally free of the evil menace that had plagued them for so long.  They were eager to continue their carefree lives under the rule of Princess Peach.

But...

High atop his sky castle, the sinister frog Wart had invented a new device he called a "Dream Machine."  With it he could send nightmares to any sleeping person in the Mushroom Kingdom.  Now the peaceful days that the Mushroom People had enjoyed were overshadowed by their horrible, restless nights.  Wart promised to continue his nightmarish reign of terror until the Mushroom Kingdom surrendered Princess Peach.  Refusing to do so, the kingdom instead sent Mario to defeat Wart and destroy the Dream Machine.
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3. GAMEPLAY

Like the original SME, SME2 impliments the "platform movement" engine built into The Games Factory.  However, the gameplay in SME2 is far more advanced than the SME engine!  Here is a quick rundown of some of the controls and the such:

LEFT/RIGHT - Moves Mario left or right.
UP/DOWN - Allows Mario to go up or down certain pipes.  Will also allow you to enter doors.
SHIFT - Causes Mario to jump.  You can kill most enemies by jumping on their heads.
CTRL - If you are Fire Mario, this key will cause you to shoot fireballs.  If you are Hammer Bros. Suit Mario, this key will cause you to throw a hammer.  If you are standing over some grass, you can use this key to pluck a vegetable.  If you are holding a vegetable, this key will cause you to throw it.
SPACE - Will release the item in your reserve box.
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4. LOADING AND SAVING GAMES

After pressing enter at the SME2 title screen, you'll be brought to a screen where you can choose from one of three save files.  To erase the data in a saved game file, go to erase and then select which file you want to clear.  A box will appear in the bottom left hand corner to confirm your selection.  Go to "Cancel" when you're finished.

To save, access the map screen and go to Peach's Palace.  Go to the Save Room and press Y at the dialog box.
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5. COMMON ENEMIES

SME2 contains an outrageous variety of enemies!  Here's a full list with descriptions...

KOOPA TROOPA - A turtle-like creature that patrols back and forth.
GOOMBA - Small, brown and round, these little guys don't pose much of a threat.
SHYGUY - These guys are, well, shy, hiding their faces with masks and robes.
BOB-OMB - A walking bomb that will detonate if stomped on or if left alone for awhile.
PIRANHA PLANT - Vicious red plants that come out of pipes.  Watch out!  These plants will still emerge if you are standing on or near their pipe.
JUMPIN' PIRANHA PLANT - A jumping version of the Piranha Plant.
SNIFIT - A Shyguy-esque creature who shoots bullets from his canon-like mouth.
LAKITU - Lakitu hides in a cloud, throwing Spikey Eggs down at Mario.
SPIKEY EGG - Orange eggs with spikes on the sides.
WIGGLER - A giant catapiller.  He gets very angry if you stomp on him...
POKEY - A living cactus that must be defeated segment-by-segment via thrown vegetables or hammers.
NIPPER - A small pink plant that walks along the ground, waiting for some tasty prey.
CHEEP CHEEP - A red fish that will pester Mario in the Deep Blue Sea.
SPINY CHEEP CHEEP - A blue version of the Cheep Cheep that swims faster.
BETA CHEEP CHEEP - Mean, yellow Cheep Cheeps that travel in packs of three.
BIG BERTHA - A large red fish that spits out Baby Cheep Cheeps out of the water at Ocean Side.
BABY CHEEP CHEEP - Big Bertha's fishy projectile.
RIP VAN FISH - A sleeping fish that doesn't like to be awakened...
BLOOPER - A pink squid that will follow Mario around.
JELECTRO - A jellyfish-type creature that will administer a shock to Mario if touched.
GRAND GOOMBA - A giant version of the Goomba.
JUMBO SHYGUY - A giant version of the Shyguy.
JUMPIN' PIRANHICUS GIGANTICUS - A giant version of the Jumpin' Piranha Plant.
AUTOBOMB - Kill the Shyguy on top to turn this mechanical enemy into a useful ride.
BULLET BILL - A bullet shot out of a cannon.
CANNONBALL - Shot out of large white cannons.  Found only on the Pirate Ship.
BOO BUDDY - The legendary ghost that will chase Mario if he looks away.
BIG BOO - Like Boo Buddy, only... big.
STRETCH - A ghost that sticks to a long white platform.
EERIE - A dinosaur-like ghost that travels in packs.
SPOOK MASK - A walking hockey mask impaled with a knife.
SPOOK LANTERN - An orange lantern that tries to attack Mario with it's long tongue.
NOKOBON - An explosive turtle that will detonate if stomped.
LANTERN GHOST - A walking ghost carrying a lantern.
JUMPIN' PUMPKIN HEAD - Similar to the Jumpin' Piranha Plant.
DRY BONES - A skeleton of a Koopa Troopa.  In the Graveyard, these creepy creatures will burst from the ground.
BONY BEETLE - Watch out!  These little skeletal beetles occasionally expose spikes as a self-defense mechanism.
BLARGG - A large dinosaur that emerges from the lava in the Fortress to ruin Mario's day.
FIRE CHAIN - Chains of fire.  Duh.
THWOMP - A large block of stone that drops from the ceiling if you near it.
PODOBOO - A jumping bubble of lava.
LIL' SPARKY - A small wisp of electricity that travels around the perimeter of some blocks.
HOTHEAD - Like Lil' Sparky, only not so lil'.
NINJI - These small black devil-like creatures protect Wart by... jumping up and down.  Very easy to eliminate.

SME2 also has two bosses.

BIG DADDY PHANTO - A large version of the Phanto from SMB2.  He'll shoot energy balls from his eyes and bounce around the room.  Take him out by catching veggies and throwing them at him.
WART - The big man himself!  Whenever he opens his mouth to spit bubbles, feed him some vegetables.
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6. POWER-UPS AND ITEMS

SUPER MUSHROOM - A red mushroom that will add one heart to your heart counter.
1-UP MUSHROOM - A green mushroom that will give you an additional life.
3-UP MOON - A yellow moon that will give you three additional lives.
POISON MUSHROOM - More of an enemy than an item, this purple mushroom will decrease your heart counter by one.
FIRE FLOWER - Will give Mario fire power.
HAMMER BROS. SUIT - Allows Mario to throw hammers.
VEGETABLE - Pluck these from the ground to throw at enemies.
COIN - Collect 100 for an extra life.
RED COIN - Counts as five coins.
ADVANCE COIN - Collect all five in each level to get an extra life.  The map screen will record in which levels you have found all Advance Coins.
? BLOCK - Hit this from below and it will dispense an item.
BRICK - Hit this from below or throw a hammer at it to destroy it.
FIRE BLOCK - Shoot this brick with a fireball to destroy it.
WINGED CLOUD - Hit this with a vegetable and it will dispense an item.
BONUS BLOCK - If you recieved 30 or more coins in the level you're currently in, this block will dispense a 1-up.
POW BLOCK - Will destroy all enemies on screen if hit from below.
ROULETTE ITEM BLOCK - Will dispense a random item if hit from below.
! SWITCH - Activates ! Blocks.
! BLOCK - A yellow block labled with an exclaimation mark that will replace dotted line blocks if the ! Switch for that level is activated.
KEY - Required to open locked doors.
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7. HINTS AND NOTES

 - Remember, if you currently have fire power or the Hammer Bros. Suit and you get a Fire Flower or Hammer Bros. Suit, you will NOT lose your item -- it will just be placed in your reserve box for safe keeping.  You can drop it by pressing spacebar.
 - Use the reserve box to your advantage.  For example, to access some parts of a few levels will require a power-up you can't get in that level -- in some instances, it may require both the Fire Flower and the Hammer Bros. Suit.  Equip yourself with one of the items before entering the level and make sure you have the other in your reserve.
 - Many pipes in this game lead to underground areas with coins or other items.  In fact, there are many instances where you must go down a pipe to get all Advance Coins for that level.  Pipes that can be entered are occasionally hinted at by a trail of coins (although not always).
 - Remember to save often!  If you close your game without saving or lose all your lives you will have to continue from your last save point.
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8. CREDITS

PRODUCER -
Jeff Silvers

LEVEL DESIGN -
Jeff Silvers

BASED ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY -
Nintendo

MAIN PROGRAMMING - 
Jeff Silvers

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING -
Jayman5X
Link23
Rage
Yoshiguy

GRAPHICS -
Antonio Barra
Banana Head
Beowulf
Bidbood
Bob
Cutman
Dr. Wario
Duckboy
Green Fanguy
Jeff Silvers
Jetgit
Kritter
Kyle Heard
Nintendo
Noiseland Productions
SonicProject
Supertoad2k
Thunder Dragon

ORIGINAL VOICE TALENT -
Parakarry

MUSIC -
Alluro
Antonio Barra
Chibi Vegito
Dave Phaneuf
Dr. Fruitcake
erik@vbe.com
Mark 7
Mark Jansen
Nintendo
Nirvana
PepsiCola
Piglet4567
Pongball
Robert Krzeminski
Stacy Anne Christiansen
The King Samon
The Jade Emperor
Tony Thai
Xky Rauh

SOUND FX -
Alluro
Bouche
Capcom
Nintendo
Trasher

SPECIAL THANKS -
BurntOut (http://www.burntout.com)
Mario Fan Games Galaxy (http://mfgg.penguinia.net)
The Mushroom Kingdom (http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk)
Video Game Music Archives (http://vgmusic.com)

A Jeff Silvers Software Production

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9. BORING LEGAL STUFF

Game by Jeff Silvers Software, 2004.
Mario and all related characters, graphics, or music are the property of Nintendo.
Any and all Nirvana material present in this game is the property of Geffen Records, Inc.
Super Mario Epic 2: Dream Machine is freeware, thus no fee is charged to download or operate it.  If you have paid any fee for this program, please contact jeff@silverssoftware.com.
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10. SHAMELESS SITE PLUGS

To download great games such as the original Super Mario Epic or Wasted Smiley Pinball, visit Jeff Silvers Software at silverssoftware.com!

For a nostalgic view of some of the oddest games of yesteryear, visit NESville at nes.silverssoftware.com!