So, I originally started by making the layout in SonEd2, designing this to be run on the Sonic 2 engine. However, building the chunks correctly was a very tedious task, and being the perfectionist I am, I had to redo a lot of them several times due to having accidentally prolonged one or two of them with extra blocks. After a few days of this, I got tired, but it on ice for a bit. I went back yesterday to see if I could find a better method... so I went ahead and created the entire level as a photoshop mockup. Now, from what I've seen you can't import the layout itself into SonEd2, but you can have it import chunks from an image file. It also seems to delete identical looking chunks. This means I can still import my level mockup, and it will create the necessary chunks from that. This took me about a day to create accurately. So, without further ado, my in-progress level layout. Layout itself is mostly finalized. It's bland and not very exciting, but there is a reason for that (I'll let that be up to you guys to find out, virtual cookie for the one who does). There are also some issues, like the shading direction of the bottom of the stem and rest of the stem on palms. I'm no artist, so some of the steeper hills which I had to create the graphics for myself aren't as smooth as I'd like. I also haven't created plants and such yet. I'm not sure about how I want the design on the plants to be, so I might throw up a poll of sorts later to find out what people think. EDIT 1: Seems imageshack fucked over my upload. Thumbnail works, real picture doesn't. Working on it. EDIT 2: I ended up changing the link to go directly to the image instead of the imageshack overlay as it usually does. Direct link works.
Correct URL. Anyway, good work on this. I wonder if you'll be recreating any of the other Sonic 1 8-bit levels.
Thanks SOTI. I already had setting the direct link to the image in mind, but was trying to make it work through the standard imageshack overlay. That said, link is fixed now. Ideally, I'll port the entire set of levels, plus some (but not all) of the behaviour over to the Sonic 2 engine. I've been fiddling with getting different effects out of the end of level sign, as well as changing some of the behaviour of how it checks what level to go to next. However, I'm still new to this, so it takes time to figure out (and time plays games with me these days, so there's not always as much as I need). Right now though, I'll be trying to simply get the GHZ1 running perfectly and looking like it should. I grabbed a picture of the entire SMS level off the net (I need to remember to give credits for that when I eventually release something), and used it as a basis for building upon... so it is [almost] pixel perfect in terms of layout. What will be the most problematic with the layout though will actually be those damn flowers. Since they animate and stuff, they obviously use special behaviour which I will need to port. Also, the look of the flowers are a bit different in SMS vs. MD which I need to decide upon which look to go for. SMS has the leaves evenly distributed on both sides of the stem, whilst the MD equivalents usually has one less on the left side iirc.
Ok, so I've been pondering for a while now, and I want you people's opinions. GHZ flowers work quite differently from 8-bit Sonic to 16-bit Sonic. So, now I'll have to make some design decisions about how I want them to work in my 16-bit remake of the 8-bit GHZ. So, to quickly sum up the differences; * All flowers in 8-bit Sonic uses the same kind of stem. In 16-bit Sonic, yellow and purple flowers use different kinds of stems (the purple flower stem being completely unique to the 16-bit version). * Leaves on the stem in 8-bit Sonic has identical number of leaves on each side of the stem and have them distributed evenly along the side. The equivalent stem in 16-bit Sonic (which is only used for yellow flowers here) has one less leaf on one side of the stem as opposed to the other, and has the leaves placed on different heights on one side versus the other. * Only some of the purple flowers in the 8-bit game extended their top every now and then. All purple flowers in 16-bit extend their tops. Some pictures showing off the 8-bit and 16-bit stems: * 8-bit: http://www.smspower.org/maxim/maps/fullsiz...e%20Act%201.png * 16-bit (note especially the different stem used by purple flowers): http://info.sonicretro.org/images/1/1b/Ghz.png So, what I have decided upon is that I only want a select few of the purple flowers to extend in my edition. Issues with the stem however, I want your opinion of. I made a quick Photoshop knock-up of the alternatives. First question goes like this: For "side-leaved" stems, which of these alternatives do you feel I should go for (and preferrably, why)? http://i44.tinypic.com/x1g67p.jpg Summed up quickly: Alternative 1 is the current 16-bit style, alternative 2 is one half of the stem mirrored to the other side giving equal number and distribution of leaves, alternative 3 is almost identical to alternative 2 except the leaves on each side have a bigger spacing (leaves moved 1 pixel away from the stem on each side). Second question is about what to do with purple flowers. Should I let all of them too use the "side-leaved" stem (as in 8-bit game), should I let all of them use the "root-leaved" version as is used in the 16-bit game, or should I make it so that static, purple flowers use "side-leaved" stems whilst the extending ones use the 16-bit "root-leaved" stems? So, what do you think?
I think you should go with the 16bit stems, separate stems and all. It looks a lot more eye-pleasing, and seems, well, to be the intended stem design. As for the extending purple stems, this is a rather odd issue; I think the extending purple flowers are just two animation frames in total for the Mega Drive, so why some would extend and some stay in the 8bit version is a rather odd question, to me. I personally think that, in the intrest of tile saving, it'd be better to keep all the flowers as the 16bit style; rotating, bobbing, and all that. Then again, I am biased towards the 16bit, but only because I think it's more what a remake should aim to look like, y'know?
I was wondering if there was any information concerning this hack here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-MPHiZJGio
That's pretty awesome right there. I think it would be slightly better if you kept the eyes in full though but that's just my opinion.
Ooh. Line zone. Nice. I wanted to something similar to test out involving the animated cycling colors on a black background, But I didn't think of doing it to Sonic as well.
If you make Sonic look like the rabbit thing from Vib Ribbon I will be one happy person http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKHP7JtPPpA#t=3m40s
Vib was honestly my main inspiration for this, but I'm sticking with Sonic and Tails for this one, I'm afraid =P
