Version 2 will be coming soon!

Updates will be coming! I intend to further overhaul the gameplay, and elements which didn't yet get my attention. Below is a non-exhaustive list of things I want to implement, though NO guarantees. It all depends on whether they are possible to mod, and whether they would work well from a game design perspective.

You can join the Discord server for the mod if you want to contribute or just keep up to date with the new features: https://discord.gg/hSE2apY6XR

ROADMAP:

• Redesigned Flashback levels
• Splitting timeline levels (= making it so that the Crash/Coco part doesn't need to be completed again)
• Overhauling % values for collectibles (the game will require the same collectibles as it does now)
• Purple gem path
• Further tweaks to level flow
• Rebalancing levels for Retro mode (as it is now, it's too easy to accumulate lives)
• Further adjusting relic times (pontentially making some of the lower tier relics a bit easier, and rebalancing master relics)
• Character control adjustments (especially Cortex)
• Mod translations
  

WHAT IS THIS?

A mod for Crash 4 designed to make completion and general gameplay more fair and more fun. It's intended for those people who couldn’t enjoy finishing or fully completing Crash 4, or who don’t feel like replaying it because of its difficulty, padding, or unfair elements. Changes to the game include:

• Removing a BIG chunk of padding to cut down on unnecessary level repeats, including removing N.Verted mode and the 3-death gem, making Flashback Tapes available in Time Trials, and toning down the amount of hidden crates.
• Modifying the level designs, re-hiding crates and gems, redesigning crate puzzles, and making levels more forgiving with fairer obstacles and more Aku Aku and Checkpoint crates.
• An overhaul of the completion requirements, changing what there is to collect, and how they count towards unlocking the bonus endings.
  

I mostly went by the philosophy of trying to keep elements intact as much as possible, and only change things that were badly designed, frustrating, not enjoyable, or not creative. Most of the elements inside the game, like the story, progression, the difficulty, and the level layouts are the same as before. However, some creative liberties were taken to make certain elements less frustrating or more interesting, especially in the case of the level designs. In essence, it’s still the same game, but a different (and hopefully better) experience.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Game saves are fully compatible with this mod, which means the following:

• SAVE DATA IS NOT CHANGED OR ERASED automatically while using this mod, or when reverting back to the stock version. You can change between versions at any time with no loss of progress. The Save Slot screen might have some values stuck when you change versions: in that case just select a save file, enter the game and from that point, they will show correctly.
• All collectibles will carry over to either version. However, even though the relic times are different, time relics will NOT change tiers depending on the player’s time. Completion % is calculated automatically, and WILL change depending on player progress.
  

Regardless, ALWAYS back up your save games!

Credits

• Thanks to HAWGT and LongerWarrior for making the mod "Crash 4 Exclusive PSN ActivisionBNet Skins” and letting me use it!
• Thanks to boycalledjames for making the original version of the redesigned logo, and for letting me use it. The original version of the logo can be found in the mod "Retro HUD HD".
  

What's new

• 1.0.5: Fixed a bug where the game crashes when finishing Railing It Time Trial in the Battle.net version of the game. As a side effect, records don't get added to either the local or online leaderboards.
• 1.0.5: Railing It: The segment where Tawna rides on top of a car has been changed, as people mentioned that the Nitros couldn't be avoided. Now there is a wall of Nitros in that segment, that must be hooked onto to destroy them.
  

• 1.0.4: Hotfix for a bug that was included in 1.0.3, where FB Level 1 was redesigned, but the crate total was not changed for the Perfection medal, rendering it impossible to get
  

The complete changelog can be found in the "Logs" tab.

Install instructions

NOTE: Update to the latest version of the game before installing. I can't guarantee that the mod will work with older versions.

• Download and unpack the downloaded .zip file. You should get a .pak file after this step.
• Navigate to this location: {Game install folder}\Lava\Content\Paks and create a folder called ~mods, and put the .pak file in it. NOTE: the tilde ~ must be there in the name, or it won't work!
  

The full path should look like the ones below. Unless you changed the location where games get installed by default, the full path should match exactly, or the mod will not be applied!
Steam version: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Crash Bandicoot 4\Lava\Content\Paks\~mods
Battle.net version: C:\Program Files (x86)\Crash Bandicoot 4\Lava\Content\Paks\~mods

To uninstall, just remove the .pak file or move it outside the Paks folder.

DETAILED CHANGES

Removed N.Verted mode

N.Verted mode has been completely removed from the game. It cannot be entered for any level, therefore N.Verted levels and gems do not count towards % or gallery unlocks. Skins that previously required beating the N.Verted boss levels now unlock upon completion of the normal version.

Completion % and Ending unlock changes

Percentage values were modified, such that completing all levels now accounts for 90% of total completion.

Collectibles are worth the same amount as before:

• 5% for half of all gems, another 5% for all gems (10% total)
• 2% for all Sapphire time relics
• 2% for all Platinum time relics
• 1% for all Flashback completion medals (previously sapphire FB relics)
• 1% for all Flashback perfection medals (previously platinum FB relics)
• 2% for all N.Sanely perfect relics
  

This leads to a total achievable percentage of 108%. The 1st bonus ending requires 100% (i.e. all gems), while the 2nd bonus ending requires 104% (the intended way is: all FB perfection medals and Sapphire time relics). There’s no reward for going beyond 104%.

Gems revamp

4 of 6 gems were removed so now there’s only 2: the crate gem and hidden gem.

Wumpa gems were cut because 1) they were too similar as a challenge to breaking all crates and 2) they inflated the gem count, making individual gems feel insignificant. Wumpa collection is still rewarded, as collecting 90% of all wumpa unlocks a level’s skin (instead of collecting an ever increasing amount of gems). The requirement was upped to 90%, because 80% was too easy.

The 3 death gem was removed because it was redundant (FB tapes, Time relics and Perfection relics all requiring 0 deaths).

Redesigned levels

Levels underwent significant changes. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the major ones:

Rush Hour is now split into 2 levels

• The 2 new levels are Traffic Jammed (Dingo section) and Railing It (Tawna section). They unlock one after the other and come between Food Run and The Crate Escape. They both have the usual collectibles, including new relic times and a new hidden gem, and count towards completion.
  

Crate modifications

• Hidden crates have been toned down significantly. Crates that were in stupid places or where the player could not see them (offscreen or obscured by the environment) were either: 1) removed or replaced with golden wumpas, 2) moved slightly to be more visible or 3) had wumpas added to hint at their presence.
• Some crate puzzles were removed, added, or altered based on the difficulty and length of certain sections (so they are neither too short or too drawn out). Some were also made more unique.
  

Hidden gems and colored gems

• Some gems had their location or method of collection altered, either because they were in stupid places, hidden in similar ways (offscreen, requiring leaps of faith), too easily noticable, or didn’t require much effort to collect. They are now hidden in more clever ways and/or involve platforming puzzles.
• All crates near hidden gems that required manually breaking were removed, so that the 2 gems can be collected separately.
• Some of the color gem puzzles were altered to bemore interesting. Additionally, a purple gem was added somewhere in the game, with a similar philosophy to the other color gems.
• 
  

Level difficulty, length, and flow adjustments

• A few obstacles (especially in later levels) were made more fair, e.g.: slowed down cars in Rush Hour, the cargo falling slower in The Crate Escape, or the electric panels turning off for longer in Building Bridges.
• A few levels now have additional Aku Aku crates, including one instance of 3 Aku Aku crates next to each other, as a callback to previous games.
• A few levels have an extra Checkpoint crate, or have checkpoints spaced further apart so that sections are not too long.
• Some nitro crates were modified to not „hop”, especially where it’s critical that they do not do so, (like in Shipping Error’s final stretch). This was done to make gameplay more fair in general, but also to reduce randomness in TTs and Perfection Relic runs.
• Most bonus rounds that required backtracking because of Switch (!) crates no longer do so, so that they aren’t made artificially longer. Additionally, some crate puzzles were altered so that they are more interesting and unique, or that they don’t require as much trial and error.
• Some Gem paths (including the one in Toxic Tunnels) now don’t need to be visited to get the crate gem, as breakable crates were removed, or have nitros added next to them. In turn, the hidden gem was moved to the end of these routes, and difficulty was raised slightly. This was done to make getting the Crate gems and Perfection relics in these levels less tedious and frustrating.
• A lot of bounce crates were turned into other types of crates (mostly Basic or ? crates), so as to not slow down the flow of platforming.
  

Time Trial changes

• Flashback tapes are now collectable during TTs.
• Flame crates were removed entirely from TTs(turning into other types of crates), because their state does not reset when respawning at the beginning. This made runs inconsistent and dependent on luck (especially for high level play).
• Crates that only turn into Nitros in TT were turned into other types of crates (mostly TNTs). This was done because of a bug that was introduced in a game update, whereby these specific Nitros don’t break time crates when exploded with the Nitro Switch Crate. Nitros that are the same in normal mode are not affected, so they remain unchanged.
  

Time Relic revamp

Relic times underwent a major overhaul. As mentioned, only sapphires are required for the 2nd bonus ending, however every relic was shifted up one tier: sapphires are now awarded for the original gold times, golds for platinum times and platinums for the developer (Toys For Bob) times. Master Relics (a level above platinum) were added for expert level players.

About half of the relic times were adjusted (made easier or harder) to have a more consistent difficulty. Quite a few of the new sapphire times have also been made easier. See image on the mod page for the exact times.

The reason behind these changes was trying to match the philosophy of how relics worked in the previous games (specifically OG Crash 3), and what level of performance they required, but matched to Crash’s 4 level design and difficulty. Since Crash 4’s levels are longer and more difficult, the relics are also harder compared to previous games.

Relic ghosts were also adjusted to the new times. The actions performed by the ghosts remain unchanged, and because the times are now different, the ghosts don’t always finish in exactly the same time as their respective relics.

Other changes

Digital download and preorder skins

• The mod called „Crash 4 Exclusive PSN ActivisionBNet Skins” is included in this version, so all of the extra skins are unlocked by default.
  

Collectible recolors

• Some collectible icons were recolored, including the clear gems, the time relics, and the flashback medals. The clear gems icons were also reshaped to be more accurate to their actual models. The Flashback medals also have different colors: the sapphire relic (now called completion medal) is now silver, and the platinum relic (now called perfection medal) is gold. The original gold relic was cut because it was unnecessary.
  

New Logo

• The game uses a new logo, which is a redesigned version of the logo found in the mod "Retro HUD HD". (Previously, I thought that the logo was inside the game files, but was unaware that I had that mod installed, including the logo)
  

Pass And Play removed

• Pass And Play mode was removed, because it enabled a Time Trial exploit, and because its usage slowed down gameplay unnecessarily, for almost no benefit.