QUOTE (Black Squirrel @ May 13 2009, 01:29 PM)
if there's a massive demand for a ROM hack of sorts, fork the project and have that being developed by a slightly different time using the same material. The version that gets completed (or gets to some goal first) could be the one that goes forward.
Be careful. Forking the project will cause us a lot of problems. A community project exist thanks to the cooperation between different members. Forking the project will not only cause a lack of work (since, at best, only half of the contributors will work on a project), but will also cause a lot of competition.
Competition is bad. Competition can kill even the stronger projects.
And really. The only important thing in a game is how its play. Doesn't matter the platform, only gameplay matters.
If the final game plays and feels like a true classic Sonic, does it really matter where you play it? We all want to make a Sonic game, why we should compete one against the other?
And about placeholders, we must be careful too.
Let's say we use placeholder sprites for our characters, zones and enemies. Imagine the situation:
"Hey guys, we are working on an awesome fan game, and are recruiting members.
Here is our work so far:
That's the Sonic sprite, but it is only a placeholder. That's the level art, but ignore it, because the final will be TONS better. Those are our enemies, but they will be completely different in the final version.
But we have a great engine, and so we only need someone who makes all the rest.
Do you want to be the one?"
Would you really feel like to help with a project presented like this? And don't make me do the rom hack example with S3 graphics and engine as placeolders.
Nope, there is something wrong. Surely, at some times placeholders may be needed, but we can't use only placeholders. We must have something to show, or no one will take us seriously.
In particular, the Sonic sprite must not be a placeholder in any case. The Sonic sprite represent the game. The general sprite style, the other characters, the badniks. They are all based over the Sonic sprite. If there is one thing that must be decided first, then that's the Sonic sprite.
You can do all the placeolder art you want, but this art won't serve any purpose, and it will only be a waste of time (we draw a whole placeholder sheet made of 100 frames, and one day we draw the true sheet. Why did we made the placeholder? Couldn't we made the final one since the beginning?).
Only final art matters, and only that could move someone to help.
This is true for everything: we complete something, that something is final, that something will never be discussed again, we move to the next target.
Beside, this is even more true with a project like this.
I would like to quote jman:
QUOTE (jman2050 @ May 6 2009, 09:20 PM)
I'll also remark that with all the supposed drama this project has gone through, you can't make a good product without stepping back and correcting past mistakes, even if it means throwing away already completed work. Better to do that in the beginning than at the end, so just consider this a step in the whole process.
Just as he said, let's say someone makes a sprite, and that sprite has ONE wrong pixel. You could ignore it, and put that mistake in the "to do list". Or you could use 5 seconds to change that pixel. End, the sprite is now perfect. Editing a sprite is a lot easier than editing an entire sheet.
But now, there is something even more important to discuss. Almost a week has passed, and we are still arguing on the same things. If we don't move on we will never stop this arguing.
All of us agree on the general direction: a new classic Sonic game. This is the best solution so far, because it is a common objective and not an "one man's dream".
So let's start moving through that direction, let's start doing something specific. Let's complete at least one thing. Then we will understand where the project must go.
We want to make the same thing, so let's start doing that thing.
The Sonic sprite, that's the perfect thing to do first. I already said it once: everything is based over the Sonic sprite, and finalizing it will save us a lot of troubles in future.
Limitations? If the Sonic sprite doesn't go past 15+1 transparent colors, then it can be ported to any platform.
The Sonic sprite caused many troubles in the past, but, even more, if we complete it we would reach a target this project never completed.
This is the best thing to do first.
And about the leader thing, we need a leader. Since we still haven't decided anything yet, we can't form a whole team. But we still need a leader: someone who can direct the project at least for this first objective.
I proposed a plan for the whole project, I proposed to focus one the sprite for the first thing, I can sprite and I'm serious about my nomination (and I can take care of the Sonic sprite alone if no one else wants to do it now).
So? Am I the only one who wants to move on and starting doing something? If not, then let's move. Let's complete that sprite once and for all.
