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Sonic the Hedgehog (NES) Improvement

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Black Squirrel, Nov 25, 2016.

  1. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    I figured one of you might have picked up on this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cY7tI4q5nw

    Somari and its many variants is a fascinating, if borderline-unplayable mess for the Famicom.

    In a feat of questionable kindness, somebody has released a less unplayable version of the game (link in YouTube description), and I can confirm that it is a noticeable improvement over the base game. This means that as of November 2016, this is the most accurate "port" of Sonic the Hedgehog to Nintendo's 8-bit system.


    That being said, Somari is a horrible game, and while this hack fixes some of the worst bits of the physics and level design, it's still inherently horrible. Still, there's hope for the future I guess!
     
  2. Techokami

    Techokami

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    Sonic Worlds Next
    Sonic's graphics look better, but it's still full of crimes. The physics are still horrendous, loops are still wonky, and the level layouts are still the same.
     
  3. MathUser

    MathUser

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    I'd rather have fixed physics with the homebrew levels, than exact recreation of sonic 1. I've played that enough times that I crave a different experience.
     
  4. That thing got better, but it definetly needs more work, such as physics, music, levels and other stuff.
     
  5. Hez

    Hez

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    There's a fan-game out that recreated it with Sonic Worlds engine. Worlds engine isn't accurate, but is still worlds better than that garbage.
     
  6. MathUser

    MathUser

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    The Jabu and Ti released a couple hacks for Sonic 1 for NES that greatly improve upon it. I uploaded it to the wiki for everyone to enjoy.

    Sonic the Hedgehog (NES) - Improvement Plus Tracks

    [​IMG]

    As you can see the Sonic sprite was redrawn, gameplay altered, and the music was changed. Now the sound effects no longer interupt the music. This is much less garbage than before. I played it for a while and I can say it is much more enjoyable and everyone that didn't finish somari should try this hack.
     
  7. Techokami

    Techokami

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    Things that need to still be fixed:
    • Sonic does not face to the left when jumping to the left
    • Acceleration is still nasty; Sonic shifts to different speeds rather than gradual speed up/speed down
    • Badniks like Crabmeat and Buzz Bomber still get cheap shots off on Sonic, they need to have a timer before they can perform a firing state
    • Start rolling as soon as you hit a badnik. The player will fly upwards in a ducking animation???
    • Still can't collect this ring:
      [​IMG]
    • There are times when you just can't jump. Pressing a button does nothing.
    • You also can't roll down hills. Sonic just stops.
    It's still an excellent improvement (new audio sounds GREAT), but a LOT more needs to be done to make this more enjoyable.
     
  8. I tried it out, and it's actually playable, but I think just a couple more tweaks need to be made. It's next to impossible to do any precise movements, and Sonic's initial speed when starting to move from a standing position might be better cut in half, so initial precise movements are easier.

    Other than that, removing some of the more bullshit placed enemies should make this much better. Even just in Green Hill Zone, there are a lot of places where a spring will launch you directly into an enemy swarm or a bullet.
     
  9. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Is this the same game as http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=36217 ?
     
  10. MathUser

    MathUser

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    I forgot about that thread, but this hack is a further revision. The only difference is the music, but it's still a big difference.
     
  11. Overlord

    Overlord

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    It's an update to the same game, so topics merged.
     
  12. MathUser

    MathUser

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    http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3224/

    Well, theres a +graphics version now. I don't know how much is changed, but I may add it to the wiki later.
     
  13. IIRC, that's because objects don't stick to the ground like in the original games, so when going down slopes, they're actually constantly running off the slope and falling due to gravity over and over, meaning a lot of the time is spent falling, and you can't jump when in that state. Jumping off a slope will only work if you happen to be touching the ground at the exact moment you push the button.

    Same reason, I guess.

    Yes, but the physics is so fundamentally broken that a little hacking can't possibly solve these issues. The engine was designed as absolute shit, so I'm fairly sure that only a total rewrite could make this play anything like a real Sonic game.
     
  14. Cooljerk

    Cooljerk

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    That exists, btw. Someone remade Somari with the Sonic Worlds engine.
     
  15. PkR

    PkR

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    As someone who actually played Somari before the real Sonic games, I can appreciate this. It's a really nice improvement to the original game, and some of the new music is very good. I think some tracks rely on percussion a bit too much, like the boss theme, but otherwise it's really nice. I wish we had this hack sold on pirate Famicom carts back in the 90s.
     
  16. Flygon

    Flygon

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    Wasn't someone actually working on a Sonic engine clone for the NES? Whatever happened to it? This was a few years back.
     
  17. Yeah, but then it's not on the NES anymore, and much of the coolness is lost.

    That'd be me. I never finished it, obviously, but I very much want to, if life ever permits. In addition to drawing a bunch of sprites, I went as far as coding an engine that supports scrolling 16 pixels per frame in both axes while decompressing the level map in real time, pattern and palette animations and an object system. The next step would be to implement the physics, which I designed based on the Sonic Physics Guide, but with a few simplifications/optimizations to better suit the 8-bit CPU.