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Gorbichev's Revenge

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by qiuu, Oct 30, 2015.

  1. qiuu

    qiuu

    Tech Member
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    Blue Ball & Blocks
    [​IMG]
    Gorbichev is back... and he's pissed.

    Gorbichev's Revenge is a 2 player battle hack based on the Sonic Boom engine.




    • [*]Pit Sonic and Gorbichev against each other in brutal high speed combat
      [*]Choose from 6 arenas in a facelifted Power Plant Zone
      [*]Configure your Gorbichev attacks for a personalised hedgehog busting combo
      [*]Balance your game for any skill level with a range of battle options


    Credits:
    qiuu - programming & design
    snkenjoi - programming & design
    iojnekns - art & design & writing this post
    MKAmeX - Gorbichev's art
    DalekSam - title theme
    Everyone who contributed to Sonic Boom

    Menu Controls
    Code (Text):
    1. Up/Down: Select option
    2. Left/Right: change option
    3. To swap controllers: both players have to select 'Swap Controllers' and one player has to press start
    4. To start the game: both players have to select 'Ready' and one player has to press start
    Download: see next post


    .
     
  2. iojnekns

    iojnekns

    trouble keeps you runnin' faster Member
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    [​IMG]

    Controls (Sonic)
    Code (Text):
    1. In the air and in a ball;
    2. -Flying Kick (A) Cost: 5 rings
    3. -Double Jump (B)
    4. -Diagonal Dash (C) Cost: 2 rings
    5. -Dive (Down) Cost: 1 rings
    6.  
    7. in the air and not in a ball;
    8. -AirRoll (Go into a ball) (Down)
    9.  
    10. On the ground and running/standing;
    11. -Walk/Limit Speed (Hold A)
    12.  
    13. On the ground and rolling;
    14. -Stand up (Up)
    Online Play
    The hack is built to be played on hardware, so that you can look your opponent in the eyes when you crush them. Playing on emulator is always an option but please be aware that players using the same keyboard may run into keyboard ghosting issues - this shouldn't be a problem for players using gamepads. If you are playing alone, online play is possible with the use of Netplay. To facilitate online play, we have set up a matchmaking channel on irc.badnik.net #revenge, so that people can find opponents to battle with. Those with issues with port forwarding should try Hamachi and are encouraged to use the Hamachi network we have set up in the matchmaking channel. Please, come join us! (and prepare to die)

    Development
    The idea for Gorbichev's Revenge has been around for some time - it was first concieved when qiuu, snkenjoi and I met up several years ago and the devious duo ported the titular boss fight to Sonic CD with a rudimentary two player mode. Since then, the concept has stuck with me. Still working hard on Sonic Boom but with quite a way to go, I proposed to snkenjoi and qiuu that we revive the idea, arbitrarily to celebrate the 6 year anniversary of Sonic Boom's release. The hack came together over the course of a month or two, and turned out to be amazing fun. We hope you enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it!

    Download
     
  3. Ayla

    Ayla

    I shat on your desk ^^ Oldbie
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    Hacking Contest, StH Overlooked, Personal Indie game
    Has it really been six years?? Such a good hack. I'm excited to play this, but I'd like to actually play it on console, I think. Fascinating idea, though. That boss was and still is fucking badass.
     
  4. Abyssal Leopard

    Abyssal Leopard

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    Oh no, that monster is back. It has given me enough nightmares.
    Seriously though, I'll try this out tomorrow after I get back from school. This sounds interesting enough.
     
  5. Retroman

    Retroman

    Member
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    Gorbichev's true form:
    [​IMG]
     
  6. InvisibleUp

    InvisibleUp

    friendly internet ghost Member
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    I'll admit, I was clicking on this thinking is was some weird political hack about the Cold War. This makes more sense, in retrospect.

    Haven't played it yet, but from the description it looks really cool, being able to be the boss and all. I'll have to get a friend and try it sometime.
     
  7. You could have an alternate form where he turns into a 16 bit rendition of the picture posted above :V
     
  8. Retroman

    Retroman

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    "Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" ~Sonic the Hedgehig 30/10/2015
     
  9. Here y'go.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  10. D.A. Garden

    D.A. Garden

    Sonic CD's Sound Test Member
    I've had the liberty of playing a few games of this and wrote my thoughts straight afterwards, so as not to forget what I thought:

    Playing as a boss character is fun for a while, but it's a bit repetitive when an easy win can be acquired by staying away from Sonic and throwing orbs from afar.
    The customisable options are quite nice, allowing for multiple matches that don't feel the same. This includes the various stages that shake thing up a bit, and the customisable moveset for Gorbichev.
    My only issue, however is that whenever someone wins, nothing happens apart from a screen fade out. I feel a simple 'Sonic Wins!' or whatever would have been nice and would also give more context to the match.

    Conclusion: If you like Sonic Boom, you will enjoy this hack, provided you have someone to play it with and can decide who should play as Gorbichev.
     
  11. iojnekns

    iojnekns

    trouble keeps you runnin' faster Member
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    Selbi and I had a few battles this evening, which I decided to record and upload. If you've not had the opportunity to play this hack but are interested to see what it's like, check it out. It isn't without flaws, but this was a lot of fun to play, and very intense.
    [media]
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G29IvRICaXg
    [/media]
    It sounds like there's some instrument related buffoonery going on in some of the music tracks, which I have made a note of.
     
  12. Selbi

    Selbi

    The Euphonic Mess Member
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    Sonic ERaZor
    There were two more rounds after the end where I started with 0 rings and ioj with 5 lives. Both of these rounds lasted less than half a minute, but it was hilarious as fuck.

    The game relies a lot on hit-and-run techniques, as well as both players leveling out each other with their lives. But hoooly shit is it fun. Maybe not the miracle of competitive game design, but for an intense crack-up it's a must-play.
     
  13. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

    Also known as RHS Tech Member
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    Well, SuperEgg and I had a little bit of time on our hands, so we decided to give this a go over Kega's netplay. SuperEgg encountered a weird bug (Sonic wouldn't stop walking into the wall and lost control), but that was the only one we noticed. We had a laugh.

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1aEWF5RMeg[/video]
     
  14. Retroman

    Retroman

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    Thanks, this made my day! :)
     
  15. iojnekns

    iojnekns

    trouble keeps you runnin' faster Member
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    I recorded a few games between snkenjoi and I last night. It was AWESOME! Considering that the two of us are probably the most experienced players of both Boom and Revenge (with the possible exception of qiuu) this is a real masterclass - a fact which I overlooked in the first round, expecting to steamroll him and getting schooled.




    What I find quite interesting is how variable the balance of combat is - tweaking Gorbi's HP down to 12 or even 5 radically changes a match from a game of cat and mouse to... a game of mouse and cat - especially against a skillful Sonic player. Arenas that I previously felt were biased against Sonic become areas with nowhere for Gorbichev to hide when replenishing orbs.

    I do feel that, although tolerable, the 60ms latency can be frustrating when leaning on twitch reflexes.

    A couple of people have mentioned the lack of fanfare at the end of a match - actually art for these screens was created but never made it into the ROM. If we end up deciding to continue to work on this, it should be a fairly easy thing to include.

    It's also notable that during this session somewhere we use two completely original music tracks created by DalekSam for Sonic Boom, which have found their way into this ROM. They're crazy good.
     
  16. qiuu

    qiuu

    Tech Member
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    Blue Ball & Blocks
    It's interesting seeing other people playing it, especially with live commentary. Having seen some footage and having played with irl friends has made me aware of some gameplay issues.


    As Sonic, often even well-timed attacks get you hurt because the many of the orb patterns are dense and change fast. So even if you have a very good grip on Sonic's moves, you don't feel fully in control because sometimes your attacks work and sometimes they don't (even if Gorbi just moves around without attacking/defending himself). Making the orb patterns slower and/or less dense should make Sonic's success attack rate higher, and thus the Gorbi player will have to react with e.g. the shield or an explicit counter attack, or a body slam before Sonic can make a coordinated attack (maybe have a new attack that give Gorbi a quick speed boost for body slamming Sonic?). The change orbs "attack" could then give an increased chance to get a stronger orb pattern.

    Sonic is faster than Gorbi, however Gorbi can move freely while Sonic is bound to gravity and needs platforms to get up. Therefore the Gorbi player has it quite easy running away after losing his orbs, and most of them time, when Sonic reaches him, the orbs are back already. The delay after losing the orbs should probably be a bit longer. This would also give it a bit more of a cat and mouse (or more like Tom and Jerry) gameplay where the cat chasing the mouse has intermissions of the mouse chasing the cat for a while. The arenas, or at least some of them, should probably also be designed to accommodate for Sonic to get around more easily.

    The aimed orb is too powerful when used in quick succession. In the initial implementation it used to be useless, so I took gravity into account for its trajectory, and now when Sonic stands still the aimed orb will always hit spot on. I think a delay after each aimed orb to prevent Gorbi from just shooting a long chain of orbs is in order.

    Players who haven't player Sonic Boom very much will take time to get used to Sonic's new moves. This is inevitable, but the learning curve can be a bit frustrating I guess. I remember myself when I played Sonic Boom for the first time...


    I'd be very interested to hear opinions, especially on gameplay issues, from other people who have tried the game. If we decide to make another revision we'll definitely take all mentioned things into account and give it more playtesting.