[GeneHF]

EDIT: So apparently the zip was messed up? Someone really doesn't want this getting out on the interwebs! Zip's fixed now so get it before the server mysteriously explodes.

You might notice that my "Current Project" has said "Losing my mind" for a while now. This is why. After much searching and realizing that one isn't (easily available) online for mass consumption, I went ahead and did it. I made a 100% save file for the PS3 version of Sonic 2006. That's twice I've gone through this game to that extent.

Now no one has to endure playing this to completion again.

I'm not sure if it will work for the European consoles and I'd say it likely won't, so right now, it's U.S. only. I also didn't do any of the DLC Very Hard Mode stages, because if people for some reason spent money on them, they should at least have the gall to attempt to do them on their own. My own (more updated than this one) file has them all S Ranked.

Now, while doing all this, I had a thought. So we all give this game a lot of well deserved shit. Hell, apparently a few people within Sega had a good laugh at my 20th Anni picture when they saw where 2006 and Shadow sat in relation to the rest of the photo, so no doubt the feeling is quite mutual with some in the company itself.

However, outside of some slight hacking exploits and a small patch for both versions of the game enabling the Super forms in the game, there's not been too much research into the game and its development itself outside that we know two things:

-The game was rushed to all hell to meet the 2006 Holiday release period.
-There was a later build of the game which we got a taste of in the now defunct 360 demo with improvements all around. This build was apparently not labeled a stable build.

While working on this file, I broke out the Sonic 2006 Prima Guides book I bought way back when the game came out to help me find some silver medals. This book is well known for documenting the unused Speed Chip update for Silver, which would have made him walk faster. But with a little more indepth look, there are a lot of inconsistencies within the build used to write the guide and the final.

-Various photos have characters always with Sonic's life icon.
-Situations depicted such as certain enemy formations or the use of two Chaos Drive capsules to get into Shadow's Kingdom Valley instead of one never occur
-Documentation of the gems working in a different manner. This includes the blue gem emitting a Sonic Boom shockwave that kills everything near Sonic and giving him a speed boost, much like the Boost Attack; the green gem's Tornado going forward and shredding apart enemies after the initial kick. Couple this with the unused leveling up mechanic listed in the game's own instruction manual.

Already, I'm doing a few simple comparisons between both versions. Far and above, the 360 version is the better build. I can dismiss the long-stated point of the spin dash not working in the 360 version, as it does inflict damage on enemies. One I can introduce is that the Princess Shield kills enemies but hurts the player on the 360. This happens less frequently so in the PS3 version, making it a viable method on getting extra hits on giant enemies.

That said, some slowdown or freezing problems int he 360 version are fixed in the PS3 version, but at the cost that the PS3 version experiences slowdowns more frequently when things are exploding and flying everywhere. The 360 version also seems to feature a few more enemies in places than its counterpart.

There's a few more oddities I've found, but as this is getting long winded, I'll hold on to them for now.

We know that this game is a glaring black eye on the series and while it has its own fans, it has far more enemies. However, much like how there have been drives to document the likes of Sonic 2 Beta and Sonic Xtreme, it's worthwhile that we look into this game a bit more, especially now with the PS3 ripped wide open and assuming that the PS3 version isn't as locked down.

[JaxTH]

I'm glad to see you went ahead and made this topic.

[Sonic Warrior TJ]

I dunno what I could do to help (I just have the 360 version and no mods or hacking know-how), but color me interested in behind the scenes Sonic '06 knowledge, and appreciative that you've already gone through so much trouble. I wonder how different the game would've been all around if they'd used the 'newer build?

[Dark Sonic]

Wait the demo was a newer build? How so? Color me intrigued BTW

EDIT: Interesting. I watched some Youtube videos of this demo build. Apparently that meter actually had some function back then. And come to think of it many of the gem moves did seem rather incomplete in the game, like how was that tornado supposed to kill anything when it's right on top of you? And the Blue Gem sounds a lot like the boost we've seen in Sonic Unleashed and Colors.

Speaking of the final version (Least the PS3 version), has anyone ever noticed how there is one Chaos Drive monitor in Sonic's version of Flame core? It's in the first section where you first start the wall running next to the giant lava pit. Somewhere around there is a Chaos Drive monitor, however since Sonic's meter on the bottom left doesn't do anything, the monitor has no effect.

And since the demo was more finished, does jumping hurt enemies?

This post has been edited by Dark Sonic: 11 October 2011 - 12:12 AM

[Lanzer]

How come when I click the first link it does nothing?

[GeneHF]

It's likely busted. I'll fix it when Comcrap decides to fix my Internet.

Also, next post I make, I'll talk of some very odd things that went down in my last recent run of The 360 version.

[corneliab]

Dark Sonic, on 10 October 2011 - 11:53 PM, said:

Speaking of the final version (Least the PS3 version), has anyone ever noticed how there is one Chaos Drive monitor in Sonic's version of Flame core? It's in the first section where you first start the wall running next to the giant lava pit. Somewhere around there is a Chaos Drive monitor, however since Sonic's meter on the bottom left doesn't do anything, the monitor has no effect.

Do you have any pictures or videos you can throw my way? I don't remember ever seeing this.

[Morph]

Great job! I'm definitely interested to see what comes of this. I actually own the 360 version of this, but my 360 kinda ate the disc and made it take about 10 minutes to load the title screen (and rendered all levels unplayable).

[Retroman]

You are very brave Gene to play this game and complete it 100%

This is interesting

[JaxTH]

Retroman, on 11 October 2011 - 01:37 AM, said:

You are very brave Gene to play this game and complete it 100%

Twice at that!

[GeneHF]

Link fixed. It should be working now. Sorry about that, folks.

So, like I said, I've been going through the 360 version again for shits and giggles, mostly just to see any differences between the versions. I don't know if there have been some shenanigans with the 360 getting improved performance on certain games or something, but the load times on it have been ridiculously better. I'm talking some stages loading up in about 5-7 seconds—Unleashed's average level load times—and some oddity I can't seem to replicate in that Kingdom Valley's first areas as Sonic loaded up with clearer skies, like the title screen. The rest of the segments had cloudy skies and jumping back in to the stage from the Trial Select menu had it back to cloudy too.

I know this game was never patched and I never remember this behavior going down on the 360 version from when I first played it back in 2006. Shenanigans are definitely about, here.

[ultima espio]

I've just come across this video:


No idea when or where this was.

[GeneHF]

I figure I'll answer what I know.

Dark Sonic, on 10 October 2011 - 11:53 PM, said:

Wait the demo was a newer build? How so? Color me intrigued BTW

EDIT: Interesting. I watched some Youtube videos of this demo build. Apparently that meter actually had some function back then. And come to think of it many of the gem moves did seem rather incomplete in the game, like how was that tornado supposed to kill anything when it's right on top of you? And the Blue Gem sounds a lot like the boost we've seen in Sonic Unleashed and Colors.

Speaking of the final version (Least the PS3 version), has anyone ever noticed how there is one Chaos Drive monitor in Sonic's version of Flame core? It's in the first section where you first start the wall running next to the giant lava pit. Somewhere around there is a Chaos Drive monitor, however since Sonic's meter on the bottom left doesn't do anything, the monitor has no effect.

And since the demo was more finished, does jumping hurt enemies?

The jump doesn't hurt enemies. However, as documented before, the homing attack has a slight downward arc—like a sting, if you will—and Sonic controls much less twitchier. On top of that, you can see the Drive Level Up bars are working. If anything, had 2006 released feeling like this, it'd have been much better regarded. And as you can see in runs of the demo, there are a few more dynamic camera angles when hitting those jumps. You lose control of Sonic for the split seconds you're launched. May as well have nice camera tricks there.

It's unfortunate (but expected) that Sega (or Microsoft) apparently removed the demo from Xbox Live for people who have never downloaded it. Luckily, I never deleted it from my hard drive so I still have access to it. No doubt a few people have it backed up somewhere too.

corneliab, on 11 October 2011 - 01:12 AM, said:

Dark Sonic, on 10 October 2011 - 11:53 PM, said:

Speaking of the final version (Least the PS3 version), has anyone ever noticed how there is one Chaos Drive monitor in Sonic's version of Flame core? It's in the first section where you first start the wall running next to the giant lava pit. Somewhere around there is a Chaos Drive monitor, however since Sonic's meter on the bottom left doesn't do anything, the monitor has no effect.

Do you have any pictures or videos you can throw my way? I don't remember ever seeing this.

I've never noticed those in Flame Core, but there's a really obvious one on a rail in Sonic's first part of Radical Train.

A little more explanation on how the gems and Sonic's Custom Actions were set to work. As they stand, they're mostly extremely broken (or extremely useless) which can either be a great thing (Gun Drive, Shrink, Time Slow, Lightning Shield) or terrible (Homing Smash, Tornado Kick, Speed Boost) I've copied this from the Prima Games guide, with a few comments in parentheses.

Quote

GUN DRIVE: Allows Sonic to throw an emerald and then quickly dash ahead and catch it. (Cyan Gem still does this... almost too well.)

HOMING SMASH: Allows you to stop in midair and do a homing attack. (The Gray Gem still does this too. One of the more useless abilities, seeing how it behaves like the normal homing attack in the final in rocketing straight ahead.)

MACH SPEED: Initiates an increased Speed Boost. While running at Mach Speed, the resulting sonic boom ruins most enemies that get in Sonic's way, except for monsters. Sonic cannot jump immediately after using Mach Speed. (The Blue Gem was definitely different and far more devastating. It pretty much reeks of the Boost Attack that Sonic Unleashed would later make standard in 3D games. However, given the structure of levels, the gem is pretty useless and super situational. Using it in the final and even clipping into something makes Sonic fall flat on his ass, much like a certain scrapped Sonic 2 feature.)

SLOW: This action slows down time while holding down the button, making it easier for sonic to react to enemy attacks or perform tricky acrobatic moves during precarious situations. (As it is in the final, the Red Gem is the most overpowered and broken ability, as it slows down everything, including the time counter, except Sonic with no limitation. This depended heavily on a properly working Chaos Meter.)

SCALE: Scale shrinks Sonic down to a miniscule size, making him harder to hit. (The Fuchsia Gem does this with a bit of an odd side effect in that Sonic can infinitely jump. It's hard to tell if this was intended or not given the nature of how custom gems were set to work. More on that later.)

THUNDER GUARD: This performs two functions -- it draws nearby Rings [not capsules] to Sonic and puts up a temporary shield until Sonic gets hurt once [invulnerable to one attack.] (One of the first things found when hacking the demo was a list of item icons, which included shield icons. Ultimately, these were never used, likely because of this gem. As it stands, the Yellow Gem is the most desirable one to use as it's basically a shield whenever you want. Still does very little good against explosions because of the stage hit boxes the game has with them.)

TORNADO: This attack makes Sonic spin in place so fast that he unleashes a Tornado that rushed forward and damages enemies. (No doubt a nice nod to one of his moves in Sonic Battle, the Green Gem works nothing like this in the final. In fact, the only thing it's good for is looping Silver in his boss fight.)

As mentioned before, the Chaos Gauge was needed to operate these gems, draining as you used them and actually putting limitations on them. Leveling up was also a feature, which would have utilized that bar under the main gauge by slowly filling red as Sonic killed enemies with the gem equipped. As it filled up, the action would gain a level (up to three levels), which improved the abilities power and made it more meter efficient in that each ability ate up less meter.

Do note that the guide makes no mention of the ??? Gem (the Rainbow Gem), which would have unlocked the ability to play as Super Sonic within his stages. This was one of the earlier major findings back in 2006 by way of Sonic CulT.



It's unlikely if Shadow and Silver had similar treatments in store. Doubtful, even.

[1stKirbyever]

That video was from TGS'05. (Or 2004.)

There's also an invincibility box in Flame Core. However, the invincibility itself doesn't work if I recall correctly.

This post has been edited by 1stKirbyever: 11 October 2011 - 07:12 AM

[GeneHF]

There's quite a few Invincibility boxes in the game and they work. It just sometimes doesn't load up the effect (a weak lighting effect that looks like little rainbow pixies are dissolving into the air while a small gold glow is under the character's feet.)

If anything, the surprising one is that there's a Speed Shoes monitor used in the game in one of Shadow's town missions. It makes him impossible to control without slamming into a wall and recycles the Invincibility theme.