Origins seemingly just got a price cut. It's now $30, and Sonic Origins plus holds the original price of $40.
The update and patch are live on steam. I really, really like how Amy plays. Looks are deceptive. Her "weaker" drop dash feels just fine in hand, and the extended hammer shield is a subtle but useful mechanic that makes speedrunning certain bosses kind of fun. She's balanced to have a much stronger instashield in exchange for a slower drop dash, and that actually makes a lot of sense and still makes her distinct and well balanced. If all that gives us is an "easier Sonic", I still find that appropriate for her. I'm also noticing fixes like the S3 special stage music timing is fixed.
The model for Amy in Sonic Origins Plus is very similar to RafaKnight's model. It's not exactly the same, but a lot of the geometry is suspiciously identical to hers. It should be noted that Katie was only referring to Superstars when she replies to Rafa, not Origins Plus. They could be different models. Comparison here.
I'm curious if this was a specific-situation fix or an actual game-wide hitbox fix. In any case, this was probably the most egregious hotbox problem so it's nice to see it addressed.
Dang. The xbox store sold me the dlc but it doesn't seem to activate Amy on my end for some reason Weird I had to install it I think. Buying it didn't do that
Equally importantly; they remembered to cull the Death Egg ceiling before everything pans down kinda silly probably but the issues with this cutscene were genuinely, like, top of my list for wanted fixes; it was no more jank than some of the other bugs that actually affected gameplay but it was very visible, consistent jank
This is actually not a hitbox change at all. This is a change to the piston object, it sends you ever-so-slightly lower now so you don't hit the spikes.
It has to be modified from the original. There's actually zero other way they could get so close to the topology and overall form, even being based on the same concept art. They took out some of the edge loops, changed the location of the middle hair curl, swapped textures, and there's some triangulation (those extra lines cutting up the the squares) from being for a game engine, but it's the same model. I'd honestly place all bets on Superstars being the same one (even if further modified by Arzest) just because it's the asset SEGA had and continues to provide for Classic Amy merch. Honestly, while I don't think she's owed anything monetarily for the asset she created (she was presumably already paid when making it), I think she still needs to be credited... But the difficult part of that logic is, then so do the modelers from Sonic Unleashed for their work continuing to be used up to and including Sonic Frontiers, and 06, and any other asset that was made back in the day that continues to be modified and put in a game. So I guess that means I don't think she needs credit either. Weird how that turned out for me.
How utterly bizzare... Sonic 1 has Amy and Tails as an option from the hidden level select (character option 05, 04 is Amy), but 'still' not Tails and Knuckles. Why do Knuckles and Tails hate each other in everything but Sonic 2?
I really wish we got more missions for the $10 DLC. That would have rounded things out nicely. Amy is fun to play as. Its a cool addition
Honestly I think there’s even less of a reason to credit if the Amy model wasn’t made for the game. Rafa made an Amy model for SEGA to use for toys, they should’ve known then and there (and I expect it would’ve been stipulated in any agreement) that said model would become property of SEGA. Origins Plus likely only credits for modelling that was done for the game rather than stuff that was reused, so I don’t see why Rafa should get special treatment. At the same time, and I’ll preface this by saying I only have the layman’s knowledge of 3D modelling, if this *is* the original model or even a modified version of it, then it’s not a good idea for Katie to lie about that (though I accept in good faith the possibility she’s simply just misinformed). She said she’d send Rafa an email in her tweet reply, but Rafa said in a separate reply that such a thing never arrived. Honestly, the best thing to do, imho, would’ve been to just not engage and avoid opening up that can of worms. For someone who’s said she’s over it, Rafa sure does keep bringing this stuff up…my impression is that she’s changed little since she burned bridges with SEGA way back when, so I find it hard to give her the benefit of the doubt here, honestly, even if she’s right about the model being reused.
Steam version updated earlier. Rolling in Sonic 3 still feels fucked but it's fucked in a different way that doesn't break the intro to marble garden quite as badly. The 3 red springs just underwater about a third of the way into Launch Base are also still a little fucked but much less fucked than they were. Sonic 3 time bonuses still are based on the same tiers as 1, CD, and 2, so you can't get a 50K bonus for finishing in a minute. The hidden Mania cool bonus still appears to be there.
The thing is this likely wouldn't even be an issue had Katie not publicly commented on it. SEGA has the right to use it without credit, as they have multiple times before, since it's legally their property. If Katie hadn't commented about the model, Rafa would've just complained about it like usual, and people would've moved on. But Katie did comment on it, and her comment is appearing to be very innaccurate. There really is no issue here, but it's definitely not a good look on SEGA's part.
Playing as Knuckles in Sonic CD now, and it plays 'exactly' like the modded 2011 versions, right down to the wacky quirks and tricks I can pull with bouncing off of Collison Chaos bumpers (like making knuckles glide backwards). It's identical. This is a good thing. Those mechanics feel great and are 100% intuitive with CD's own gameplay. I'm so happy that it feels exactly the same as the fan version I've been playing for 2 years already! Also, there is indeed a new path in PP1, but you have to go underground near the start of the level (after the large ramp) to find it as Knuckles. So there are clearly a few more secrets to find still.
I think my opinion on the model issue has settled on “Rafa deserves credit, but Sega does not need permission to use the model they commissioned” here But I’m also in the camp that believes that, yes, people who have their older assets reused for a new game should have their name in that game’s credits somewhere as well in general
