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(Sega Saturn homebrew) Sonic Z-Treme

Discussion in 'Fangaming Discussion' started by XL2, Jul 7, 2017.

  1. XL2

    XL2

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    Good day!

    I've been programming a Sega Saturn game since march of 2017 using the Sega Graphic Libraries and my own engine.
    It's not an exact 1:1 reproduction of Sonic X-Treme, but it aims to take ideas from this game and put it on the Saturn.

    The game works on stock hardware at 30 FPS - and 30-20 FPS during splitscreen.

    Here it is in action (WIP) on real hardware :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Solq-N_jI28

    Newer version in SSF emulator :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foMLX3Lz8fQ&lc=z22kxrhj1ljbhjrp404t1aokgyrbkeblcv5zikbzbwxwbk0h00410
     
  2. Been seeing this kicked around a couple Discords I'm in, and gotta say, it looks super impressive! Don't know a lot about programming, but I know the Saturn is (was?) a pain to work with so to have this much running is astounding. Hope you'll keep us updated!
     
  3. Mega Spit

    Mega Spit

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    This looks amazing so far. It looks more like what I imagined X-Treme to be as a kid. Meaning, it looks better than the playable builds that came out a few years earlier turned out to be.

    I'm really impressed that you have it running on the Saturn itself. I didn't even know that Saturn homebrew was a thing.
     
  4. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Wow, that's some really impressive piece of work.

    Quick! To the time machine! :v:
     
  5. Ravenfreak

    Ravenfreak

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    This is amazing! I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to more updates. It's not everyday you see Saturn homebrew, especially based around Sonic. :)
     
  6. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Already looks more playable than Sonic X-treme ever did :specialed:

    But seriously nice work. I look forward to seeing more of this.
     
  7. Rudie Radio Waves

    Rudie Radio Waves

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    Many a game.
    Niiice. Please do continue this project!
     
  8. JcFerggy

    JcFerggy

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    This looks really impressive. I curious what Andrew75's thoughts on this are.
     
  9. synchronizer

    synchronizer

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    I am curious about what the code and project structure for a Saturn game like this looks like.
     
  10. Andrew75

    Andrew75

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    I think it looks good ! We've spoken on YouTube about trying to get one of the levels that I had recreated in the past sent over to test in Sonic Z-Treme. I been waiting for my Jo-Engine account to activate for the past few days, Seems its activated now, and next time that I'm at the development computer, i'll be sending over the files that were prepared a few days back. Most likely this evening.
     
  11. bookman the stinky

    bookman the stinky

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    As far as audio, are you going to stick with purely sampled audio? Or are you gonna attempt to work the Saturn's internal synth?
     
  12. XL2

    XL2

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    So far for audio things are pretty broken, but my todo list is so long that it falls back to lower priority for now. I will probably stick to sampled audio, but I will need proper 11025 hz files (or just convert them properly). The Saturn got 8 audio channels, but currently the PCM files I use are filling 33-50% of it's capacity even if they are mono and downsampled. I'm not sure if it's a bug with Jo Engine or if it's a bug on my end (I haven't put much efforts in this yet), but I limit audio playback at the moment to 1 file only to prevent overflow crashes. I could work around this by coding a better audio implementation, but right now I want to focus on creating tools for windows to convert levels (such as those shared by Andrew75), bin-loader, mesh-loader, auto-generate the BSP and collision detection boundaries. Everything was handcoded, which takes way too much time.

    Hopefully - if I'm succesful - I could put several levels from Sonic X-Treme (and the truly amazing conversions made by Andrew75 for Project AXSX) into my engine. I will probably have to remove some details in levels to reach 60 FPS (some people will disagree with that, but I think it's worth it).

    Of course, I'm always happy to receive feedback and hints, so if you have suggestions for the audio don't hesitate!
     
  13. MontiP

    MontiP

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    So far it looks pretty neat. Congrats!
     
  14. MathUser

    MathUser

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    This looks like a pretty good project. If I had a saturn I'd give it a go. That's for sure.
     
  15. The Game Collector

    The Game Collector

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    I have a modchipped Saturn so if you get a lot done and do a release in any stage, I'll be glad to be able to play it on real hardware. That will be amazing when Andrew75's PC version and your Saturn version are both done. What's cool is that there will be 2 different takes on how the game would have been. It's kind of like how there are alternate takes on how Hidden Palace Zone and other scrapped Sonic 2 levels should look.
     
  16. XL2

    XL2

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    New update.

    Huge thanks to Andrew75 from Project AXSX for sharing the Jade Gully map with me.

    I rewrote huge parts of the engine, created a tool to convert .OBJ files to my custom binary file format, auto-generate collision boxes, subdivise the map (for culling), etc.

    It works from 30 to 60 FPS on real Saturn hardware since the map is much more complex than my own take on Jade Gully, so I have a few months worth of work to make it run at a stable 60 FPS (things I must do to reach a stable 60 FPS : LOD + pseudo-mipmapping, precomputed visibility, better culling code).

    My map tool isn't complete yet, so you can see that there is no special interaction with some objects, the water isn't moving, etc.

    Anyway, you can see it running on SSF emulator here :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDzUXsTSKk4
     
  17. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Looking really impressive!
     
  18. itsstillthinking

    itsstillthinking

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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8h1bkJTU7A

    new 3d models!
     
  19. EterTC

    EterTC

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    I just wanted to say that this looks impressive, good job!
     
  20. itsstillthinking

    itsstillthinking

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    Jade Gully and Crystal frost!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7cW9wgIW00&t=7s