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Sonic VR

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by ColinC10, Sep 18, 2011.

  1. ColinC10

    ColinC10

    Tech Member
    I've had very little time for hacking this year so for this one it's back to basics!

    Get Sonic to the exit in each of the 40 mini-levels. No rings, lives, time limits or bosses, just virtual-themed artwork and music by Anamanaguchi.

    There are a couple of annoying sound issues that I haven't been able to get rid of, and some sound effects don't even play at all in certain emulators, so for that reason I suggest you use Kega Fusion. Other than that I'm reasonably happy with it, despite how quickly I knocked it together. In fact it's probably the hack I've enjoyed working on the most, so I'd be interested to hear what you guys think.

    Screenshots:

    [​IMG]
    This is the title screen. Told you I was going back to basics!

    [​IMG]
    More command line goodness in the level select.

    [​IMG]
    I hope you like grey.

    [​IMG]
    The levels range from insultingly easy to teeth-grindingly difficult (this one's somewhere in the middle).


    Finally, I should point out that the version of Sonic VR entered in this year's Hacking Contest is a demo with only around half of the levels. The download link below is for the full version, so bear that in mind when voting. SRAM saves from the contest demo will carry over to the full version.

    ++Download++

    All comments are welcome!
     
  2. Eduardo Knuckles

    Eduardo Knuckles

    Not a loved one, but the most hated person. Banned
    414
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    Someplace somewhere
    Project S.A.M.G.
    I'm very impressed with the knowledge you applied on this game. I simply loved how you implemented a big lot of creativity on every level I saw on this game. It's fucking enjoyable and it's freaking awesome, man. Congratulations! :)
     
  3. Selbi

    Selbi

    The Euphonic Mess Member
    1,497
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    Sonic ERaZor
    I love how you used the music from the BIT.TRIP series. It fits really well.

    As for the gameplay, that is even better. Seriously, this is one piece of entertaining beaty.
     
  4. Rika Chou

    Rika Chou

    Tech Member
    5,276
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    I love this. Very different than other hacks out there, but also very fun.

    It kind of reminds me of Marble Blast Ultra.
     
  5. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
    2,832
    44
    28
    London, UK
    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    Immensely enjoyable, both this version and the hacking contest demo. Quick and fun.
     
  6. plushifoxed

    plushifoxed

    it's a DREAM PARADOX Oldbie
    1,702
    49
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    jazzy nyc
    puella magi chroma magica
    Ah, Helix Nebula... One of my favorite Anamanaguchi songs. Great work on this; the puzzles are both challenging and enjoyable. :)
     
  7. Alriightyman

    Alriightyman

    I am back... from the dead! Tech Member
    357
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    Somewhere in hot, death Florida
    0101001101101111011011100110100101100011 00000010: 0101001100000011 01000101011001000110100101110100011010010110111101101110
    This just instantly became my favorite hack!!! What are the names of the songs in this? They are very catchy.
     
  8. MarkoMan

    MarkoMan

    In memory of Dreds... Member
    294
    0
    0
    Queens, NY
    Sonic 2 Turbo
    This is pretty awesome. It's like a level design 101 homework project or something.

    Kinda surprised that there's no ranking system though. lol
     
  9. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

    bobs over baghdad Member
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    making cool music no one gives a shit about
    aaaaaaaaaaaagh

    nope nope nope.

    I've gotta take a break from this. Chainsaw Massacre has got me about to throw my keyboard through my window. Stellar hack as always though. I'm gonna come back at it later with a fresh mind and hopefully tear through these last few levels.

    I've got to say though, I'm not a fan of the soundtrack. I'm sure someone here wouldn't have minded making actual Genesis versions of the songs you used. Compressed versions of the originals aren't my favorite.
     
  10. #35 is KILLING ME.

    GAAAAHHH!!!

    This is a fantastic hack ColinC10! I love having these mini challenges! They truly separate the boys from the men in terms of 2D Sonic Physics.

    In fact...someone send SEGA this hack, and explain to them that most challenges in this hack wouldn't work with Sonic 4-esque physics.
     
  11. DustArma

    DustArma

    Member
    1,337
    10
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    Santiago, Chile
    Learning Python.
    I love it, very challenging, but it crashes the one Genesis emulator that has a decent speed on my phone :argh:
     
  12. jaz

    jaz

    Let's try try try makafushigi! Member
    12
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    Awesome hack, love the mini levels.

    Does the QR code in the background actually work? Tried to decode it with no success.
     
  13. Ravenfreak

    Ravenfreak

    2 Edgy 4 U Tech Member
    3,077
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    O'Fallon Mo
    Sonic 1 Game Gear Disassembly
    This hack is awesome! :) But level 13 is a fucking bitch. >.> And 13 is my favorite number too. :v: I make it half way through and then I fall. x.X
     
  14. ColinC10

    ColinC10

    Tech Member
    Thank you for your comments so far, everyone. I took a risk with this hack, because I've never done any level design before and without decent levels this hack would be totally worthless. I can breathe a sigh of relief now that at least some of you guys seem to have had fun with my challenges!


    I hadn't realised Anamanaguchi had provided music for BIT.TRIP, but yeah, that's the kind of vibe I was going for. The tracks weren't actually written specifically for BIT.TRIP, though (unlike Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, where they composed the soundtrack). The tracks that I used were all chopped and rearranged in order to fit on the ROM and to loop. If you like the music then check out the originals as well as Anamanaguchi's other stuff: a lot of it's available on their website and the rest is easy to find. Here's the track listing:

    0 - Helix Nebula
    1 - Mermaid
    2 - Blackout City
    3 - Mess


    I know, I can't believe it either! Very early on in development I intended to have a time limit for each level (which would have allowed the usual S-F ranking system, of course), but I quickly decided this wasn't necessary as some levels are more enjoyable when you can sit and ponder them indefinitely without having to continually restart, and others have time pressure built in to the design. Plus, I liked the idea of having no HUD. So all you get this time round is a little star next to the level! And in case anyone's expecting any surprises, that's really all you get - your prize for completing all 40 levels is nothing more than a sense of smug satisfaction.


    Sorry about that. The hack isn't really very kind to emulators - I think it's a combination of the unusual music playing method and the 6MB ROM size with bankswitching.


    I wondered who'd be the first to try this! No, there are no hidden messages in the backgrounds. In fact, I took out letters and replaced them with a weird made up language of symbols because I kept thinking I could see words in the background, which was quite distracting!
     
  15. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    You know, releasing this when I still haven't pushed out the hacking contest demo (and I'm just about to). :/

    Really tempted just to put a link to this one as well. For what is supposed to be a quickly-made hack, it's still something like your usual releases.

    EDIT: Here, first hack made public. Have fun with the demo.
     
  16. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester

    Original, No substitute Resident Jester
    2,192
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    Japan
    Avast ye, very impressive! I was a bit disappointed by the fact that it seems to lack quite a few things in comparison to your previous work (I was actually expecting something a lot more to be honest), but that doesn't sadden me at all, this is still very very fun to play and does put a pretty damn good spin on Sonic and his physics. The extensive usage of everyday objects arranged in unexpected ways to perform a challenge, is quite simply genius, congratulations!

    EDIT: I also managed to get stuck between two of the Casino Night Zone bumper pannels:

    [​IMG]

    I was able to get back out, but I couldn't reproduce it sorry.
     
  17. Selbi

    Selbi

    The Euphonic Mess Member
    1,497
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    Northern Germany
    Sonic ERaZor
    To be honest, it wasn't BIT.TRIP per se, only the fourth part of the series, RUNNER. I just find it funny that the only two songs that game features from Anamanaguchi are those you used as well (Blackout City and Mermaid).
     
  18. Knucklez

    Knucklez

    I love 2B 'n' ass. Member
    687
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    Is it just me or is the Sonic VR Rom 6.00 MB? I'm willing to bet you guys have seen Genesis roms over 4.00 MB in size but this is the first time I've seen this and many people complain about this being an issue in that it will not work, yet that's not what I'm seeing here... then again I'm no expert at this.
     
  19. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    The PCM music takes up a lot of space, which is why the ROM is 6MB.
     
  20. Fred

    Fred

    Taking a break Oldbie
    1,563
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    Portugal
    Sonic 3 Unlocked
    You are such a tremendous asshole for that last stage. Awesome hack, tremendous asshole!

    There are some cheap shots here and there, like bouncing from spring to spring without any way to gauge how much you're actually moving in the air, and essentially everything involving crushers. You're supposed to glitch through the crushers in order to clear that last stage, right? That's the only way I was ever able to get through consistently.

    I also managed to get wedged between two large CNZ bumpers, but I rather got stuck between two vertically stacked ones on a wall and was unable to get out. At the first breakway floor, directly to the right of the star bumpers arranged in a diamond.

    The music also went dead on me a couple of times, but returning to the main menu and picking a file system fixed it every time. Much more severely, one time during Swarm, I fell in the death pit and the game crashed, resetting back to the SEGA screen before going to the Sonic 1 and 2 title screen (all with fantastically garbled art, of course). I didn't try playing the game in such a state because I feared for the integrity of my SRAM file.