I would perhaps be interested in contributing, at some point.
Prior to his recent absence, Simion was working hard on a DKCRE feature that would allow for the intelligent/automatic placement of level terrain tiles, based on just the "physical" (read: gameplay-influencing) surfaces one wishes to place. If and when he ever gets that system sorted, it'd make it monumentally quicker and easier to create hacks that look as good as Rare's levels did. Personally, I'd like to wait for such a feature, as it'd make the process a lot less tedious.
I apologise if I just spat in the face of everything ROM hacking stands for.
spaceman2028 wrote:You can get Phyreburnz and mattrizzle to help you with custom sprites as well!
Before you go nominating people for various things, just keep in mind the following quote:
In a previous topic, Mattrizzle wrote:[...] if anyone is thinking about asking me the question "Will you do it for me?" my answer is no. If I started taking requests, they would never cease and I would be buried in a pile of them.
[link]
Although Phyre and Mattrizzle contribute a lot to the community, they don't have an unlimited amount of free time. They both get asked to do a lot, so don't be surprised if they can't/won't involve themselves with every project that comes along.