Zone: 0

Europe Observations

Thursday, 19th June 2008, 7:46pm (UTC), 2 Comments

With the full quality, 100MB version of the previously discussed trailer for the Europe city level of Sonic Unleashed, I thought I'd do what everyone else is doing and look out for some cool, new things hidden away in there, hopefully many of these you won't have noticed or read about before..

When Sonic is homing attacking the Spinner badniks, you can make out this strange green box. At lower res it almost looked to me like something that flew out of one of the badniks, but now you can clearly make out the green shield symbol on the front and a red circular pad underneath it just like the item boxes originally from Sonic Adventure. This is a Sonic Unleashed item box! And the standard shield has clearly made a comeback after its absence from previous 3D outings. It's an odd design though, almost a cross between the classic TV monitor style and the newer design, but the TV box is replacing the glass as the thing that essentially holds the item graphic, with the pad underneath to keep it floating. It might be hard to see where it is, spatially, from these shots, but if you watch, it's floating in the air with the badniks and presumably can be obtained by holding left while homing.

Take a look at these guys, who hover ahead of Sonic in the later clips. Here you can see that they're three-eyed, bulked up Egg Pawns, seemingly, hovering by way of two massive jets on their back. Very interesting.

What the hell is that red-rimmed circular thing? It's not a spring, it's flat and there's no star on it. Could be a jump panel like those in Sonic Adventure where Sonic leaped between them on the walls by jumping. Also looks like a button, similar to the original, flat and.. button-like designs of old, rather than the abstract floating sphere ones.

You may have noticed this already, but these platforms below prove the existence of slower and more careful platforming areas. Here you can now make out a large floating hoop in the middle, much like those in the Advance series, and assuming it provides the same mid-air dash functionality, it appears to get Sonic to the highest spring on the right, from the lower one on the left of the pic. It's interesting that the grinding rail route on the trailer starts at the top and goes down, and seems to run against the direction that these platforms and springs will take you. Perhaps the multiple routes in this game are less a case of short and sweet than we might have thought, if, at one point, they're going in entirely different directions?

If you wondered how far all those nifty 3D houses went before they switched to a flat background, there's your answer. Still, you really don't notice it while moving at that speed.

If you've seen the trailer more than once (and I'm sure most of you have), you're bound to have spotted the Carnival Night style balloons all over the place, and I'm hoping they're a level-specific object, rather than yet another one that appears throughout the game. Also note the flagpole there though, popularised in the Sonic Advance series. The team are clearly making use of standard 2D objects, rather than just 2D-ising standard 3D ones, which is good.

There's certainly a lot to look for in this trailer, and one of the most interesting and exciting ones that Sega have produced in recent years I think, at least of the ones that are just for pure gameplay, like this. Will post more observations if I spot them.

Comments 2 Comments have been posted.

#1. Comment posted by mercury on Wednesday, 25th June 2008, 1:03am

Hey, when you give the site the ol' redesign, how about giving it a Favicon? There isn't one when you bookmark it Firefox. :)

I have to say, despite myself, that Sonic Unleashed looks totally awesome. Personally, I don't think Sonic will ever be truly back on the map until they re-hire Masato Nakamura to do the soundtrack and start drawing Sonic the way they did in the Sonic CD cinematics, but regardless of that Sonic Unleashed looks like it might finally be a worthy successor to Sonic and Knuckles. I promised myself after the series of let downs that were Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Next-Gen I'd never be fooled into getting stoked about a new Sonic console title - but I'm stoked anyway. It helps alot that Hashimoto sounds like an intelligent and dedicated guy. I dug it when he said that careful platforming was as much an integral part of Sonic as the speed - something no one has understood since the Megadrive era, in my opinion.

I've completely finished up the first five Zones, leaving only Stardust Speedway and Metallic Madness, which thankfully don't have a whole bunch of complicated objects (unlike Tidal Tempest, which took four days on its own!). It's slow work, but rewarding!

#2. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 28th June 2008, 3:30pm

Favicon's not a bad idea at all! I'll probably make it a teeny little Z:0, rather than a Sonic head or something, so as to distinguish it from other Sonic sites.

Cool news about the zones, can't wait to try out the program!

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High Europe

Tuesday, 17th June 2008, 7:10pm (UTC), 0 Comments

Yeah, I kinda hope that's not the name of the level either, but, just in case you've missed it today..

1:59 of pure Sonic brilliance as he races non-stop through the "Europe" level of Sonic Unleashed. I love the amount of variety in there, and sure, it's all running very consistently fast along winding paths and rails and I think there is reason for some concern that the game will feel like it's playing itself, as I've read some people point out today. But I think the developers are realising this and combatting it with Quick Time Events, where you must press a particular button at a particular time to dodge an enemy, skid under or dash straight through something, all while moving at great speed. I'd be worried if this features too prominently so that it becomes a bit like some sort of non-musical Sonic-based Guitar Hero, or some other rhythmic button pressing game that I can't play very well, but it seems to mesh quite well with Sonic's usual gameplay mechanics.

As big a fan as I am of the balance between smooth speed and traditional platforming that the original megadrive titles had, I think as Sonic fans in this modern, harsh world where guns have replaced the act of jumping on people's heads and the hedgehog can no longer expect automatic love from reviewers, we need to be ready to accept that things sometimes need to evolve into new, fresher approaches. The Sonic Rush formula has been more successful than any other in recent years, so, a bit like natural selection, that's the mutation that the powers that be are running with now, so to speak. Those in fear of a complete loss of all platforming traditions however should be reminded that there is still the Were-Sonic side of things to be unveiled, said to, logically, operate at a much slower pace. I know, it's not the same, but it's better off present in a distorted form than completely absent. Plus, we've only seen the bits that Sega want us to see, which are more often than not, the fast bits, as that's where Sonic is special. Doesn't mean to say that there won't be slower bits too.

I love the amazing speeds of it all, and the behind-view segments requiring quick left and right dashes look immensely fun. I love that powerslide, the wall-kicking and the freefalling sequence down, what appears to be a Dilapidated Way-style sewer. All is not lost with level-specific objects, as we can see spiked and non-spiked rolling barrels, water fountains and especially look out for the returning Carnival Night balloons. I also liked the variation of the floating spinner badniks from Sonic Adventure and Advance 3, which Sonic homes in on, and enemies in general certainly seem to be taking their rightful place in the levels, being one-hit-to-kill, easily disposed of and fairly comical creatures, as opposed to appearing in lots of large gangs and contributing too much to the overall challenge. The large soldiers falling away are very satisfying to watch. Also, I can't not mention those amazing graphics. If the high-end version of the game is capable of rendering all those buildings and details without dropping a frame, then it should be able to handle just about anything. The music, I wasn't that keen on at first, but as with most new Sonic music that I'm initially not sure about, I came round to it very quickly.

You can say all you want about concerns regarding where this game is taking the series in terms of gameplay style, but I think most would agree that this is all looking to be a big step in the right direction, and I for one am extremely impressed, and excited. Gameplay looks constantly exhilarating in a way that only Sonic can do, but I don't think this necessarily means a drop in challenge and genuine difficulty, or a game that will play by itself. QTE's should give it a simple, easy to pick up and play, but tough to master quality, and I'm really happy with the balance between 2D side-scrolling and rear-camera "on-rails" stuff that allows them to give us the best of both worlds I think. If Sonic must take the option of a game filled with fast-paced, think-quick button presses and reactions rather than slower semi-puzzles, I for one am happy to run with him and see where we go, but to be honest, the inclusion of Were-Sonic makes me doubt that things will be that black and white anyway.

Previous interviews have revealed that Sonic Team are dedicated to this title, and are picking out the flaws that we've all discussed to death and making sure that the likes of too many bottomless bits and waves of tough enemies are being hopefully replaced by excellent variety and challenge, all while keeping a consistent pace and ultimately resulting in what I think could be the most enjoyable and heart-pumping Sonic game yet. I think if this game fails, it won't be through lack of trying. Could still be through lack of time unfortunately, but lets hope that if the developers really need extra time to work things out, Sega will give it to them. If not, they'll be making a massive mistake.

On a final, site note, I'm in the planning phases of a massive overhaul to the back-end system that drives this place, resulting in something that is easier for me to edit and progress into the future with when I come to newer games that follow different structures (i.e. ones that don't always have the same two acts and a boss for every character, or even have acts at all). This will also lead to a completely new look for the site, with many new features added, and I've already started designing that, to much satisfaction so far. However, I don't want to make you wait too long for the general pages of Sonic 2, to round that game off, so I've decided to do those old skool for the moment and build them in straightforward HTML, then convert them to dynamic later on. Otherwise it might be a while before anything is actually added to the site, and I'd rather that not be the case.

Only a month or so til E3 I believe, so hopefully more Sonic Unleashed goodies then! Enjoy!

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Wingin' it

Sunday, 18th May 2008, 7:00pm (UTC), 20 Comments

Update: Wing Fortress Zone added to the Sonic 2 section

Finally, the zones of Sonic 2 are complete! Yes, there's still Death Egg, but that's a final boss arena and won't have a full level page, but will be covered in the stages and story section. I'd imagine tips for Wing Fortress would be quite useful, as I'd say it's one of the hardest 2D stages around. It'll be my last full-on map for a while too, as Sonic CD is next, and won't have fully detailed maps - there's just too many of them and it'd probably kill me. Speaking of which, if anyone reading this has ever been able to successfully extract the full sized maps from Sonic CD PC version into PCX images using SonEd, or anything else, and wouldn't mind doing me a HUGE favour.. please leave a comment indicating so. I might need you to get them for me, having had problems doing so myself. I'm well aware that smaller ones exist on the web, but ideally I'd like to have the original sizes. Thanks!

The general Sonic 2 pages are next, but they may be a little while away yet. The Sonic 1 ones were static HTML, but now I want to build a dynamic system for handling them, like the most recent level pages use. And I actually want to rebuild my admin section for making those anyway, so the next few changes will be very behind-the-scenes I'm afraid. Still, I'll try and limit the time taken with all that, but I start my new job tomorrow, so no guarantees.

That's all for now, as my eyes are dying on me. Enjoy the Fortress!

Comments 20 Comments have been posted.

#1. Comment posted by mercury on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, 9:36am

Hey, I'm really digging the site! It does a great job of presenting all the detailed info on the games while still being very nice looking and user-friendly. It's not nearly as busy and hard to navigate as other Sonic sites. It looks very professional, so good job! I am wondering, though, how detailed do you plan on/want to make the oddities, beta, lost sprites type section? Because Sonic CD is up next, and I've found some hidden sprites, never used in the game. I've checked around the Sonic unused sprite community for quite a while and can't find them, I think I may be the first to discover them. I think it would be cool for Zone : 0 to be the first to show them off, if you're interested.

#2. Comment posted by mercury on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, 9:41am

Darn, I discovered your site too late for you! :( Nonetheless, you have my encouragement. Ganbatte!

sorry to double-post :)

#3. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, 9:43am

I meant too late TO VOTE for you!

Aargh... it's late as I type this. Sorry again. :)

#4. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, 9:39pm

Hey, thanks a lot! Always really like hearing from people who enjoy what the site's doing, so thank you! Nevermind about the vote, maybe this year :)

I try to stick more to what actually made it in the games, rather than delve too deeply into what didn't, as there are so many other sites that do that, but it certainly has a place here and there, so you're more than welcome to send anything in to me. I can't guarantee it being posted, and as it's Sonic CD, I wouldn't expect the section it would be in to be ready for quite some time (even though Sonic CD is next, I just don't have a lot of time these days, unfortunately), but sure, go for it, by all means. Email me at liquidshade@soniczone0.com

Cheers!

#5. Comment posted by mercury on Wednesday, 28th May 2008, 7:44am

My e-mail is crazy at the moment, doesn't always work :(

I've put them up on rapidshare, if that'll be alright.

http://rapidshare.com/files/118231542/soniccdspr.zip.html

Also, what did you mean exactly by "full-sized maps"? Do you mean pixel to pixel level layouts of each of the zones, in all time periods? And does it have to be the PC version, or did you just think that it'd be easier to rip? Cos I might be able to help with that, too.

#6. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 28th May 2008, 1:08pm

Thanks, I appreciate the thought, it's great that you wish to contribute, but I don't really think Zone: 0 is the right place for these kind of unused sprites. As I say, this place is more focused on what actually made it into the games, rather than dissecting all the little things that didn't make it and I'd prefer to stick to that principle for the time being.

Basically, I'm in need of Sonic CD maps that are ideally larger and more detailed than these, but failing that, mainly maps that aren't watermarked, which these are, by Stealth. I could use those but I would rather have my own to use freely. They won't be full of objects like my Sonic 1 and 2 maps are, because that would kill me, but I want to have something that I can at least mark out where the machine is in the Past, where Metal Sonic is, where the best places are to time travel, etc. They don't have to be the PC version, as both use identical maps as far as I'm aware, but the bigger and less watermarked, the better, so the best bet is to rip them from somewhere.

Supposedly SonEd is capable of that, which I have used to get my Sonic 1 and 2 maps, and is where those ones linked above came from, but I've tried on several machines and just can't get the PC version's .exe to load up. So if you think you can find some way of extracting those maps I'd be extremely grateful!

#7. Comment posted by mercury on Wednesday, 28th May 2008, 10:37pm

Technically, they did make it into the game, they just aren't accessible through normal play :P

As for the Sonic CD level maps, I'm currently coding a program that can read the binary level data directly from Sonic roms, to extract them into bitmaps, pngs, or even convert them into Game Maker tiles for use in fangames. So if I kick into high gear and finish it soon (it's already working for Sonic 1), I could get those Sonic CD maps hopefully with no problems.

#8. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 28th May 2008, 11:43pm

Sounds like a very useful tool! I wouldn't want you to go to any extra trouble, of course, but if you do manage to get those Sonic CD maps extractable that would be really brilliant! Other than the actual level environment, will it be possible to extract anything else from the level layouts into bitmaps or PNGs, such as the precise placement of rings, item boxes, springs and other objects? As it is now I have to cut all objects out of screenshots and paste them in individually myself, so is there any chance your program might support extraction of those? That would be a big time saver for the future.

#9. Comment posted by mercury on Friday, 30th May 2008, 4:57am

It's no trouble at all - in fact, it's a break from a much larger and more difficult project I've got going, so it's bit of a fun excursion. I'm glad to be any help.

I've made significant progress. Sonic CD level maps are loading and exporting to PNG format with perfect accuracy. I've solved the binary offset problems I was having, and have all the acts (in each time zone) of both Palmtree Panic and Collision Chaos done already. I'll easily have the rest of the zones by the end of to-morrow.

As for object placement, I haven't yet implemented it, but I'm confident the process will be much the same. I plan on exporting secondary PNG files with a transparency, so that the objects can be easily overlayed onto the level map. I hate the thought of anyone having to meticulously screen capture each object and paste it in individually! So object data is definitely high on my priority for the program.

On an unrelated note, I was wondering what you thought of Ristar (and, with its marked similarities to the Sonic series and inclusion on Sonic Mega Collection, is it an eventual candidate for Zone: 0?)

#10. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Friday, 30th May 2008, 7:50am

That sounds brilliant! Wow, when I posted that plea for Sonic CD maps, I was doubtful I'd get a response at all, let alone so soon. Do let me know when the program is all ready, thanks very much.

I like Ristar, though haven't really played it extensively, beyond the first couple of levels. I haven't really considered featuring any non-Sonic games in Zone: 0, but I would be inclined to stick to Sonic only. If I were to write about any other games, I'd probably make a separate site. Certainly when I get to Mega Collection (many years from now most likely), it'll be briefly summarised, but probably nothing more than that. I'll have to give it another play sometime soon though, it's pretty fun.

#11. Comment posted by Anonymous on Friday, 30th May 2008, 9:21pm

Here is somthing soooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooo cool.

I got to the Wing Fortress boss, and it
is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hard!

#12. Comment posted by mercury on Sunday, 1st June 2008, 2:48am

I actually ended up re-writing most of my program from scratch yesterday, trying to optimise it for Sonic CD specifically. It's still not ready for prime time, though, because it's a tad slow and also relies on other software DLLs to function. I'll eventually remedy all that, but until then it's virtually indistributable.

The good news is that it can now export full size Sonic CD Zone maps from a Gens savestate with a couple of clicks, so I did all 70 this morning in only about 2 hours, and here they are:

http://rapidshare.com/files/119210300/Sonic_CD_Zone_Maps.zip.html

They're already compressed into lossless PNGs, but all together they're still about 40 mb. Not bad for 2 to 3 days work, and I didn't even have to resort to the (decidely inferior) PC version of the game.

If you have any suggestions or feedback after looking at the maps, just say. I'm forging ahead with the object data now, so the object layers will be uploaded next. I'm not sure how long it will take - the trick is not just reading the placement and index values of each object, but their proper graphics as well. I may have to just screenshot every object type to get the graphics - but at least I won't have to place them manually.

You gain a whole new appreciation for the artists at Sonic Team when you see the levels in full - not only are they beautiful, but they must have been even harder to make than they are to rip!

Oh, and will you be needing Special Stage maps, because each one is unique?

Cheers.

#13. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Sunday, 1st June 2008, 10:00am

Wow, thank you so much Mercury! You really didn't have to go to the extra trouble, I would have been happy waiting for the program to be finished to use it myself, although I suppose you wanted to test that all maps extracted perfectly anyway. I really appreciate it though, and once you've made the program available to the public I'll be sure to advertise it like crazy for you, so you'll definitely be given credit. These are brilliant, thanks a lot!

I'll probably do Special Stage maps, but I reckon I could draw them out myself. Do they exist in a top-down form in the game? If not, and if they're too hard to extract, don't worry about it, I'll just draw replicas of them.

Don't feel you have to rush with anything for my sake, as it'll be a little while yet before I'm ready to start on Sonic CD, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do with the object layers, as that'll be a massive time saver for me.

Thanks again!

#14. Comment posted by mercury on Monday, 2nd June 2008, 1:19am

You're welcome. But I'm not rushing, I'm just fast like Sonic ;P

The trouble with my program, Sonic Extractor, is the bitmap size limit of 2048x2048. The Zone maps are significantly larger than that, so I have to use a freeware program called Imagemagick to automatically stitch the chunks together at export time. If you don't have that program installed, you wouldn't be able to use Sonic Extractor. Until I find a way around this, it's kind of moot. Also, to avoid the headache of decompression, I extract the zone maps from Gens savestates instead of the Sonic CD binary itself - I was concerned that if you didn't have Gens, you might also not be able to use it (although, I guess I could always supply the savestates - but they're larger than the maps, about 1 mb each!)

I was worried about finding where the objects locations were stored, specially with the lack of documentation on Sonic CD hacking, but it was much easier than I expected. Object extraction is looking very doable now, which is a relief (I had all but promised it, after all).

And yes, the Special Stage map tiles are stored as 2D textures in the Sega CD's memory, so they can be extracted. The layouts must be stored somewhere as well. I just have to find them.

Now I must thank you for your fantastic maps for Sonic 1 and 2 (which must have been painstaking to make) and your detailed descriptions of each level. My main project right now is a sort of compilation/remake of the Genesis Sonic games. It's no Rom Hack, more like Metroid Zero Mission, with completely redone visuals, music, and engine. But my goal is that no matter how fancy it gets, it must recapture the spirit of the originals perfectly. Your Zone pages encapsulate that spirit, and are therefore a great resource for me.

#15. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Monday, 2nd June 2008, 8:17am

You're more than welcome, I'm really glad Zone: 0 has been so successful at helping different people do different things, be it just simply get through the level in one piece, find new areas, I've even had someone who uses the screenshots to create their own artworks based in the levels, and now to help you remake the games yourself. I'm glad you find that the pages encapsulate the original spirit of their respective zones, as that was always my intention, and your big project sounds like a great endeavour. Are you involved in the Sonic 2 HD project at all, or is this something entirely separate?

If there's no way of getting round the need to have Imagemagick and Gens installed, I don't think that would be such a bad thing really. If anyone really needs this tool, they'll be happy to download any extras or make their own savestates (which I've already done myself for SonEd, actually). I know I would be, if it's capable of exporting objects onto the maps as well. Would it be safe to assume you're planning on giving the same treatment to Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles too? Compared to the ones I've done, those are absolutely huge, and I'm not much looking forward to placing each object individually on them. If they could be ready made using your tool, the whole Zone: 0 project will progress much quicker than I had envisioned, as the maps are the real time consuming bit at the moment.

#16. Comment posted by mercury on Monday, 2nd June 2008, 11:50pm

That's funny, I was going to ask if you needed Sonic 3 and Knuckles maps. It's definitely functionality I want to include - at least there is a lot more documentation on them than Sonic CD.

Sonic CD actually has a quirk in it's object data - the objects for every possible time frame are stored in each act, with a bitmask that tells them in which ones to appear. It was confusing at first to see a whole bunch of disembodied objects floating in the air all over my maps until I figured it out! It's still going well.

No I am not involved in Sonic 2 HD, although it looks like a cool project. I'm actually working entirely alone, and keeping my project tightly under wraps (not even announcing the title) until closer to release time. It's been in preproduction for about 5 years now, but I've finally begun coding the engine. Though I do have reworked graphics, that's not my primary focus. My focus is on story, and making the Zones, which previously were only loosely associated, into a coherent world with geography and history. It's quite fun to try and imagine a scenario in which Sonic would need to travel from an ancient ruin to a casino and then waterworks! I'm trying to draw on the best of British literature - the meticulous detail of Tolkien, the high adventure of Brian Jaques, and the "you could step right into it" world and plot twists of Rowling.

I'm also not just picking one game, but combining all the Zones from each of the Genesis era games into one grand story. I'd say you wouldn't believe how ambitious I am, but then again you probably know the feeling :)

#17. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 3rd June 2008, 8:02am

That sounds like a great idea, I've often thought the application of a deeper story between and in the zones would always make for something really interesting. Good luck with it! The amount of people who are willing to invest hours, months and years of their time in creating something big and entirely dedicated to Sonic is, I think, something SEGA should be really proud of. :)

#18. Comment posted by mercury on Monday, 9th June 2008, 4:34am

Sonic CD doesn't use a single object list, like a Genesis ROM, but a distinct one for each of the 70 levels. Not even common objects like the Metal Sonic projector have the same object index. This was a bit of a setback, but that's what happens when forging unexplored territory. I have now figured out the object lists for the first four Zones, so I'm past the halfway mark, at least.

#19. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Monday, 9th June 2008, 6:43pm

Cool, thanks for the update! Just thought, earlier on you mentioned you might have to take screenshots of particular objects and cut them out so that your program can place them across the maps. Will this be the case, or are you able to just use them straight from the ROM? For Sonic 1 and 2, I've kept images of all the sprites I used for my maps, if they'll be of any use to you at all? Let me know.

#20. Comment posted by mercury on Tuesday, 10th June 2008, 5:53am

I appreciate the offer, but I already have captures of the handful of objects common between Sonic 1 and Sonic CD.
I'm not, however, having to take screenshots - I'm extracting the object sprites from the rom. The finished program won't have this ability, though, the sprites will be pre-compiled and built in. It's the faster way, and having images of everything in the game will probably come in handy in the future for some other project anyway.
I had free time today, so I went ahead, pitched in, and did the object lists for the final three zones. So it's just adding the sprites, polishing up the interface a little, and then showtime.

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Airline Peanuts

Friday, 9th May 2008, 3:30pm (UTC), 1 Comment

Update: Sky Chase Zone added to the Sonic 2 section

Just as I had hoped, I managed to throw the page and map together for Sky Chase within a day, and even more easily than I expected. It's about time that something actually took less time for me to do than anticipated. The map proved a bit more complicated though because all the badniks move across the screen at different speeds, and I found it quite hard to plot them all accurately, according to where they would actually appear, so I just stuck to their starting positions. It's a pretty self-explanatory stage though, so I doubt anyone really needs the map anyway, as you can't exactly miss anything. Oh well, there if you want it.

Since I'm starting a job soon I thought I'd give in and buy Mario and Sonic and Sega Superstars Tennis. Doesn't look like they're coming down in price any time soon, at least not the former, so I thought what the hell. Got them at The Hut, who are currently offering Superstars for £15 when you buy Mario and Sonic for 30, so if you've been thinking about getting both of these, but hesitant to go full price, that might be your best deal for a while.. Having said that though, it seems they've knocked off a whole pound from Mario and Sonic since I bought it the other day.. bastards!

So Mario and Sonic arrived this morning, but Superstars is oddly still within the firm grip of the Royal Mail, somewhere. I played a few events briefly but I think it really is far more of a multi-player game, and most of them, I wasn't really enjoying very much to be honest. I don't like how so many of the events are unlockable too. I want to play the archery one, and the dream events too, but turns out I have to go through all sorts of stuff first. I guess first thing in the morning, I wasn't feeling particularly active either, and the 100 meters sprint wore me out. Given the amount of time I've invested on building this site so far, you would be safe to assume I'm not the fittest person in the world. Still, at least my Sonic game collection is once again complete now, with all 45 existing titles. Superstars is more of a Sega game, so I don't count it as a Sonic one as such, and M&S is at least 50% Sonic. Those are my rules, and I stick to them.

I'll tell you what I also picked up in the same gaming binge though.. LocoRoco for the PSP. If you love classic Sonic and happy, bright games, you'll probably really like this. It's a platformer with simple but very stylish graphics, fantastic physics and very Sonic-like rolling around at speed. I was instantly enchanted by it, and it was only a tenner or so, so I recommend looking into it.

Expect Wing Fortress to not be too far down the road, I reckon. Should be able to at least start it and get a good way through over the next week or so.

Comments 1 Comment has been posted.

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Metrosexual

Monday, 5th May 2008, 1:29pm (UTC), 2 Comments

Update: Metropolis Zone added to the Sonic 2 section

Now is that the best blog-post-title-that-refers-to-a-level I've done so far or what? I'd be lying if I said it only just came to me, mind you.

Again, my apologies for taking ages with it, especially since I've managed to do the whole thing in just the last two weeks really, but I've been snowed under with other work. I think you'll find it rather detailed though, as always, and the maps weren't as tough to make as I was expecting, although the looping does confuse things a bit. We're closing in on a complete Sonic 2 section now, and neither Sky Chase nor Wing Fortress should take me that long (I reckon if I set aside a whole day, I could get Sky Chase done in its entirity no problem). And then it's just all the other stuff about the game (including Death Egg, don't worry I haven't forgotten about it, I just don't class it as a level, it's a boss), all of which has already been written, but will probably need a few small additions. Although I will probably assemble a PHP system to help me build those non-level pages.

Once I've converted all current levels and pages to a fully dynamic state, it'll be much easier for me to make layout alterations and add new features, and I've got one or two ideas in my head that I hope will improve the experience. Also coming hopefully fairly soon is a full new look, particularly regarding the top banner/nav area (it really needs it in my opinion, and again I have a great idea for it), Sonic CD and a couple of other great, big features for the site. Can't guarantee I'll have loads of time to spend on it within the coming months, as I have a placement job to start in two weeks from today, as well as a new place to move into, but I shall do what I can. I'm planning on a big update week at some point, where a lot of these things will appear throughout it, or if they all take too long, I'll release them more gradually, we'll see how it goes.

So Sonic Unleashed is looking to be on tip-top form so far. If you're interested and haven't done so yet, you should really check out the scans from Play Magazine's interview with Yoshihisa Hashimoto, the lead director, which also includes new screens and loads of info. It would seem that the Wii/PS2 version is being developed with a certain degree of difference to the 360/PS3 version with regard to level design, and the former is being worked on by the Sonic Rush team. Given the game is very like Sonic Rush in pace, it's in good hands as far as I'm concerned. I know some people are a bit up in arms about this decision and worried that, because the Wii can't take advantage of some of the features of this "Hedgehog Engine", it'll lead to a significantly poorer version. I guess I can understand that if you only own a Wii or PS2, but being a Wii and a 360 owner, I'm excited by this decision. It could almost be two different games, if they really do vary significantly. A clever trick to make more money by Sega too, but what can I say? They're welcome to take mine.

This was a great interview too. Play asked all the right questions, and the director proved to me that they're all passionate about getting it right this time, and taking onboard the specific crticisms of past games. Of course, that's not to say they won't make whole new ones, but they're definitely more receptive than they used to be. I believe the reference to the game being half 2D, half full 3D refers to the fact that Were-Sonic will be controlled in full 3D, whereas regular Sonic will only be 2D to the side, and 2D on-rails from behind. Unfortunately it looks like Sega are still in control of things like deadlines and delays (or lack thereof), as opposed to the developers, and if that's still the case, are we likely to end up with another buggy product?

With the success of Sonic Rush Adventure and Sonic Rivals 2 on a more traditional, technical basis, and the very surprising success of Mario and Sonic Olympics and Sega Superstars Tennis on a more casual one, plus Sonic's attachment to Brawl and Bioware, we're building up to a major comeback here, culiminating in the success of Unleashed and Chronicles. I believe the new era of Sonic has already started, and I'm confident that these next two big games can carry the weight of this build-up.

Expect all of my (more well-written) thoughts on Sonic Unleashed soon, in a big article, as we start to learn more about it.

Comments 2 Comments have been posted.

#1. Comment posted by iNAUDiBLE on Friday, 16th May 2008, 11:04pm

The guides you've been posting so far have been pretty nice. I came in, expecting for you to have only updated once since I've last seen the place only for you to have updated twice! Stunning! *SHOT*

...I believed that by being "half 2D, half full 3D", that they were talking about the switching between the 2D and 3D perspectives, not necessarily the werehog. Ah well.

IGN's article on it says that SEGA, at this point in time, is keeping the game at 30fps instead of 60. I'm not really sure what to think about that right now, but it does look to be pretty fast at the frame rate it is now...and if it's at full 60fps, you'd run the risk of running so fast, you'd be continually running into walls, and while we want Sonic at lightspeed, we do NOT want him at ludicrous speed! D:

#2. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 17th May 2008, 12:50pm

Thanks! Wing Fortress isn't too far off either :)

Indeed, 60 would be great, and if there's one type of game where the difference would be noticeable, because of its pace, it would be Sonic. But then again, Secret Rings runs at 30 and that didn't really bother me for the most part, and if it means that the game runs more consistently in general, with less slow down as a result, then I think 30 is the right choice.

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Sonic Unleashed is unleashed?

Saturday, 22nd March 2008, 3:13pm (UTC), 3 Comments

First screenshots of Sonic Unleashed?

If you've not been keeping up, Sega made a new trademark a couple of weeks back for the name "Sonic Unleashed", and when this normally happens, we can expect to see a new game of that name be announced shortly thereafter. What's more, we are due for the announcement of the next primary platformer at any time this year, so is this it? Certainly looks that way!

Just check out the graphics on those environments! "Sonic in Pingu land" springs to mind, as they look like they're made out of plasticine, and I would have been sceptical if someone had just told me about that beforehand, but I think they look really nice! There's something, not quite old skool about them, but not the kind of realistic stuff we've come accustomed to either. It's a unique style all of its own, but thank God, it's bright and cheerful! Apparently they're based on cities in Greece, and the desert-like one looks a tad bland in places, but overall, they've really pulled a surprise out of the bag on this one. The cut scene seems to give mixed signals of both comedy and darkness, so I don't know what quite to make of that, but I really hope they go down the lighter road with this one. We don't need any more serious storylines for the time being.

My biggest question at this stage is a matter of dimensions. 3D graphics, great, but what about the controls? I've been saying for a long time, we need a primary Sonic game that is controlled in the traditional 2D axis form, and mostly side-on. This game could still be that. If you look at the last screen, of Sonic darting out from a behind a box, it suggests to me that he's running a preditermined path down that road and you can move him left and right. Not side-on no, but I really think they'd be safer with 2 dimensional controls at this point.

To me, these look like 360/PS3 screens too. If for Wii, my fear is that it'll follow the same wii remote controls as Secret Rings, which on the whole, didn't work for me.

From what I read, there's more out there right now too. There's word of a 600MB movie, a magazine scan and perhaps more shots, but I'm struggling to gain any clues as to where they might be. Will update.

EDIT:

Ludicrous amounts of screens and Were-hog?

Suddenly the name "Sonic Unleashed" makes perfect sense now. Shared with many I'm sure, my initial reaction to that transformation was a big 'ol "WTF?", but personally I'm not too bothered by it. It seems a little gimmicky and maybe even a bit of a rip-off of Twilight Princess' idea, if this is indeed a gameplay element, and I've no doubt it is..

..But then you browse through all these screens and just think "Wow!". If the game looks this good, they can turn Sonic into a shepherd's pie for all I care. There seems to be a lot of suggestion that it takes place on the 2D axis, either sideways on or from behind like Secret Rings, and that's pretty much exactly what I had hoped for. From the screens I can see two different levels, with the African/desert one being particularly varied, and it looks like the day-to-night feature that should have been in Sonic '06 is back, and you've got to believe, here to stay. That makes me incredibly happy, as I've wanted to be able to play levels set at different times of the day for so long now. And with the werewolf gimmick it makes perfect sense, since presumably Sonic can only transform at night. The contrast between this happy, plasticene world and the darker side is very apparent, and it suggests that alongside it will exist a much darker world, or variation of these levels.

Also note the complexity of that Blue Coast style level, in the aerial shots. It looks like an incredibly non-linear affair if those paths aren't just decorational, with your route weaving around and hopefully expanding into many options. I am absolutely loving what I see, and will constantly be wanting more.

EDIT AGAIN:

Sonic Team... I could kiss you.
Absolutely perfect - EXACTLY what I had in mind. A true "2.5D" adventure for our next primary platformer. The sense of speed suggests that its inspiration mainly comes from Sonic Rush, and going by the success of that format, it definitely seems like the right move for them to have made. My only gripe? Sonic's running animation could be better. I was hoping for something similar to SSBB and indeed, Sonic Rush. Still, who the hell cares, this is pure Sonic GOLD!

Oh, and apparently, the screens posted are from the XBox 360 version, and there is said to be a preview coming up in the Official Nintendo magazine, which suggests a multi-format release. Good move.

Comments 3 Comments have been posted.

#1. Comment posted by Rachel[i luv sonic] on Friday, 25th April 2008, 9:50pm

Can you add more levels to sonic2?
And you should add more games,too.

#2. Comment posted by Lauren on Tuesday, 13th May 2008, 1:18pm

This website is amazing!
The amount of detail you have gone into is incredible. You've gone to heaps of effort with the aesthetics... just awesome.
I'm doing a Game Design course, and have a theory assignment on genres. I've chosen to write about one of the best games in history - Sonic the Hedgehog.
Very glad to stumble across your page.
Keep up the bewdiful work :)

#3. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 13th May 2008, 4:46pm

Thanks a lot Lauren, I really appreciate the comment!
Wow, lucky you, I'd love to be able to write a piece of coursework on Sonic! Hope my site can act as a useful reference for you.
Best of luck with it!

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