[InfinityAlex]

EDIT: Flashpoint Freeway is no longer Flashpoint Freeway. It has now become a new zone. This zone will be the first zone, which will have a forest/factory theme. I know! I'll call it the Forest Factory Zone! Yay! Anyway, some tropes will be kept in and I plan on keeping the Spark badnik, though it is now being renamed to Crackle.
Screenshots:

Forest Factory Act 1 (Start of level)


Forest Factory Act 1 (A little further on)
Bear in mind that, as the project is still in early stages, the level sprites are mostly temporary placeholders for the game's final sprites. I assure you, the finished product will look a lot better than it does now.
Sonic Origins is a project that was first conceived in February. Since then it has gone through some changes, the most significant being to switch the focus from Robotnik/Eggman to Amy Rose. This is due to a sturdier, more Sonic-esque storyline. Previously I had planned to have Robotnik become a villain due to loss of control and a slow descent to evilness, but it seemed too dark. After several other ideas, I finally decided to move onto to the next character. LakeFeperd had already cleared up Tails, and Sonic CD was the next game to be released, so it had to be Amy! Forest Factory is the first zone in the game. It was inspired (in its Flashpoint Freeway form) by Palmtree Panic (Sonic CD), Radical Highway (Sonic Adventure 2) and Cloudy Crowd Act 3 (Sonic Before the Sequel)

Flashpoint Freeway's Concept Art
Notes
1)The enemies for this zone are Flaming Crabmeat (Nothing special), Spark (A small flame who acts like a Hot Head from the Mega Man series. Leaves a short flame pillar in its wake), Pata Pata, and the generic Buzz Bombers. (Flaming Crabmeat has been scrapped)
2)Pillars will crack if jumped on enough! (Scrapped)
3)These steam pillars act much like they do in Sonic 4, giving Sonic a brief vertical boost. (Likely to be implemented)
4)Yay! Palmtree Panic inspired runways! Not sure how I'm going to code these yet... (Almost certainly going to be implemented)
5) The fire columns work much like they do in Sonic BTS' Titanic Tower, disappearing after 3 seconds. (Scrapped)

PROGRAMMING QUESTION (Already dealt with. Throw your opinion in if you want to, though): What sort of coding would one have to input into MMF2 to create a custom power-up, say, a Rocket Knight inspired jetpack suit for Sonic, enabling him to take flight for a certain time period in a style similar to Sparkster's rocket dash? I'm interested in seeing if such a power-up would be feasible in Sonic Worlds 0.5, as it requires no extensions. As well as this, how would one go about making bosses? For example, I'm planning my first boss of the Amy episode of Origins to be similar to Launch Base's frog badnik, the one that has wrecking balls for hands. It will be an easy boss to defeat but I have no idea how one would program it. The said enemy doesn't exist in Sonic Worlds as of yet so I'm unable to analyse its attack pattern and coding. Some help, anyone?

If anyone would like to help with programming or music, I'd be happy for you to jump on board. I will get most of this done myself, though.

This post has been edited by InfinityAlex: 16 May 2013 - 03:18 PM

[Strife]

InfinityAlex, on 13 May 2013 - 04:59 AM, said:

PROGRAMMING QUESTION: What sort of coding would one have to input into MMF2 to create a custom power-up, say, a Rocket Knight inspired jetpack suit for Sonic, enabling him to take flight for a certain time period in a style similar to Sparkster's rocket dash?

The Worlds engine can be stretched pretty far, and I'd even go as far to say that its only limitations are your knowledge of MMF2 and your own imagination. My Worlds project, for example, has a powerup that's basically a fully-functioning motorcycle for one of the characters. And the bosses, well... xD

That being said, I'm afraid I don't have the time or devotion available to work on other projects at the moment. ^^; Good luck with yours, though!

[TimmiT]

InfinityAlex, on 13 May 2013 - 04:59 AM, said:

EDIT: I shall now start posting concept art and screenshots, later to be followed by gameplay videos.

Just so you know for in the future: don't start threads without having screenshots and/or videos. It's easy to make a topic in which you tell what your idea is without being able to show that you can actually make that idea happen.

[Mr Lange]

If you can't make your own powerup, you're gonna have a hell of a time making a Sonic fangame beyond basic level design. The powerup changes a variable you make and switches Sonic to a state, the conditions of which you must design. If Sonic is in that state, this and that happens, or he'll do such and such when buttons are pressed, etc. These are the fundamentals of game design. If you have to be told how to make that, I'm certain you'll be stuck every step of the way. It's like if you open MS Paint and have to ask someone how to draw mountain; its the same way you draw everything else, start with the drawing tools, the rest is just the theory of the specific thing you want to create.
Same goes for bosses. You just have to know how the elementary pieces work to form something complex. There cannot be an instruction manual for everything possible. It is entirely impractical for anyone to give you instructions on how to create what you have loosely described. If you can't figure that out I don't see how you're going to complete this game on your own.

[InfinityAlex]

I think I made this mistake at SFGHQ as well. Just for the record, I will have screenshots by tomorrow. Thing is, I was pretty today, what with school, clubs and whatnot. Anyway, tonight I will take a couple of screenshots, though the level is in a very early form. And also, thank you for your advice on my programming situation. I will figure out how to do the bosses, if it kills me. And, Mr Lange, you have put your point very well. Lake also summed this up in his Sonic Worlds guide. The jetpack isn't actually necessary to the game, just something I intend to put in as a shout out to the Rocket Knight series. Strife, thank you very much for your support. I understand that Freedom Planet is a big undertaking. That said, if you did start helping me I would probably become some sort of parasite. Knowing me, I would probably be on your back a lot to work on this. Lake also pointed this out to me on SFGHQ. I have taken his, and your advice into consideration, both on my game and its topic, and I will make sure everything is run smoother in future. Thanks for the tip, TimmiT.

And, as I've said, screenshots will be up by tomorrow, if not sooner.

[.Luke]

I have to admit, I was at least expecting the screenshots that you're promising, man. I know you're excited to talk about your project, but it was kinda disappointing to walk into this topic just to see an idea and a drawing. Topics like these are all too common, and rarely, if ever, sees the light of day. That's why it doesn't excite anyone, yet; once your project starts showing more promise, that'll be a different story.

Just be glad you at least didn't do this on some other Sonic communities I've been unfortunately been registered to before. I've seen a lot of needlessly angry and snarky DIY OR GTFO in the Sonic fanbase, it's awful how badly some newbies can get ripped on.

[InfinityAlex]

Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind. This is the wonderful thing about forums such as Retro and SFGHQ. They'll actually tell you where your going wrong. I understand that I've been quite naïve thus far, but it's forums like these which will help me be more competent on forums. Thanks a lot.

Anyway, screen shots are up, or at least they will be soon at the time of writing. Just remember that the game is still very early in development so I don't have a lot I can show you. However, I'm making it my personal target to at least have a playable demo of the first zone, boss included, by the end of summer. Failing that, I will work myself twice as hard for any other demos I may create. I understand that some of you may think I'm saying this to make myself look good, but I assure you, I will stick to my guns with these deadlines.

[Tiller]

TimmiT, on 13 May 2013 - 11:27 AM, said:

InfinityAlex, on 13 May 2013 - 04:59 AM, said:

EDIT: I shall now start posting concept art and screenshots, later to be followed by gameplay videos.

Just so you know for in the future: don't start threads without having screenshots and/or videos. It's easy to make a topic in which you tell what your idea is without being able to show that you can actually make that idea happen.

You think we could make this less of an unwritten rule? When I first got here I wanted to splurge about my ideas without having anything to back them up, but realized in the nick of time (through someone else doing the same thing) that it was frowned upon both here and SFGHQ. That and outright stating we can't link the "site that likes to think it reports news" but you won't know that until someone calls you out on it. Might help new folks get adjusted faster.


Anyway to add something to the topic: You think you could elaborate on your act trope and gimmick ideas a little more? From what I understand its more of a surrounding forest moving into a factory/highway setting? I'm curious to how you might balance natural elements with manufactured ones.

[.Luke]

^ I think that would definitely help a lot for newcomers. And the background looks more or less like a generic tileset that probably comes with Sonic Worlds, or at least it reminds me of what originally came with Damizean's original Sonic 360 example engine for Game Maker. So he probably just hasn't added a background yet, guessing from how early in this project is sitting on top of Sonic Worlds.

Also, InfinityAlex, you shouldn't pressure yourself into a deadline for this, for a fan game project anyway. Most of us don't really have much time for making these kinds of things, and it certainly shows in the lengths of time between demos and final releases. As long as you're intent on making progress whenever you have the free time for it, your fan game will get done.

I know that if I had something as polished as Sonic Worlds to work with for my first fan game, it could have been done in a matter of months instead of a year. (Then I spent another year, on and off, adding more content to it.) A lot of the footwork and tech is already done for you, so just worry about making your fan game stand out from the rest. My hands will probably be tied too much with a possible Shantae fan game in the near future to contribute anything to this, but I do wish you luck, and hope you learn a lot of invaluable lessons about game design in the process.

[InfinityAlex]

Thank you very much (again) to you both! I appreciate the support I've been given so far, despite the mistakes I've made. It means a lot when people are trying to help instead of just putting it so blunt, as some forums do. Anyway, back on topic.

@Tiller
I'm not sure how my whole, nature/highway trope will play out. I get the feeling it may end up morphing into a different zone so I can still keep most of the tropes. It's not really a factory setting (as I've said, the sprites are mostly placeholders). In reality, it will look more akin to Radical Highway, with a level structure which borrows from Palmtree Panic, with some elements of Cloudy Crowd Act 3.

@.Luke
Yes, I'm using the default background right now. I'll only get round to changing this and the placeholder sprites when the act is done. Also, why it may seem ridiculous that I'm already setting deadlines, I haven't quite reached my GCSE year just yet (I'm currently in year 9) and I have a summer holiday of 10 weeks. So, seeing as I'm also working on this at school, I'll probably have my first zone finished before SAGE, which I will create a booth for, provided I can.

(Going to be working on this through my lunch break and after school, so some more screens will probably be up before 8PM tonight)