The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Megathread

They never touted it as a feature either. In fact they didn't even mention it happens.
Eventually I'm sure they'll see it, and may change it.

Just have to make yourself known to the local PR members.

 

they haven't fixed anything people have asked for. Every time there's been an outcry "why is there a homing attack? we want classic sonic! Why does sonic uncurl?" sega goes "thats not what the fans want, this is the direction we're taking sonic in and that's final". They know its a problem, because there have been several polls on their own forums asking about it, and there's a 9/10 ratio of people saying they don't want uncurling ingame.

 

That's not a 'feature', it's an 'evolution', you see. :specialed:

 

While nothing has really changed as far as what they've said, ever since Sonic Colors was shown, I've become more pessimistic about this game. It looks fun, albeit lazy; it's the principle of their design philosophy that's really turning me off to this game, as well as making me lose any type of respect that I held out for Dimps.

I have a feeling that the uncurling is just another part of the global conspiracy to force us to use the homing attack in the game. I SEE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE, DIMPS.

But honestly, I couldn't care less if they implement the homing attack. It's the jump dash and dash pads that are my biggest complaints... besides the whole being lazy thing.

 

It's not a bug, it's a feature. Oh wait :v:

I must admit, I haven't seen much of Sonic Colours, simply because I'l probably never own it, but at least that isn't trying to pass itself off as something as big as Sonic 4. Also, it just looks a lot more interesting than this - I mean, donuts in a Sonic level? Theme parks? Chained space stations? I'l take that over a poor rehash any day.

 

Of course they haven't fixed anything yet. The last time we saw the game was a month ago, and they had JUST decided to delay it. By E3 some of the issues were fixed, but not included in the build. We've yet to seen the fixes, so don't act as though they've already been done.

On the other hand, the homing attack IS staying. But the people who have played it don't seem to mind it, and they're saying it won't be mandatory in the final version.

 

Yeah, but you know what - fuck those people. I mean seriously, these two complaints - what do they even matter? How does the homing attack take away from your gaming experience in any way, whatsoever?

I. Do. Not. Get. It.

 

Ruby posted something at one point. He said he played through S4 using the homing attack as little as possible. Sometimes it was absolutely required (CSZ3) but for the most part you could play without. Fair is fair, the move isn't bad. It's just auto platforming and the game would benefit from a few more "don't use the homing attack here" moments.

 

Honestly it's because of the way they use it. If they actually used it in a way that added unique level design it would be fine, but all the did was add homing attack chains over bottomless pits. Classic Sonic on the other hand is just people being butthurt. I prefer classic Sonic but it doesn't really matter, it's just a design choice that doesn't affect the gameplay at all.

 

Because they belong to two totally seperate styles of gameplay. I will be the first to say that sonic adventure is one of the best games ever, but I do not believe that means it needs to become the guide by which they defile the classic series. Homing attack is a crutch for 3d gameplay, it makes 2d gameplay flat and stale. As for the classic sonic, it holds the wonderful irony of "we're making this for the retro guys!", but when the retro guys want a completely retro game, sega goes "This isn't made for you people!" My point remains that sega is just using "listening to its fans" as a means of suckering people into buying a poor project that they put little effort into. They've even admitted it's a 'low risk' project by making it cheap, downloadable, and episodic. They don't want to put any more work into it than they have to. They don't care about the retro gamer they just want to tap into the retro gamer market.

 

...by adding the homing attack. It's the homing attack of all things that's "defiling the series." Really?

Lolwhat - how? Like Polygon Jim said, if your problem was with its usage, I could and would agree with you - but, if it's just the presence of it within the game in general, then that's asinine.

...or, they see that implementing a previous design that really isn't all that different from the current one into the game despite how much back-tracking that would require within the production process would be kind of pointless, and would probably only sate the appetites of a few particularly insufferable gamers.

Listen to yourself.

It's bad because it's cheap, more widely available, and cut into portions which would allow more attention to be lavished on these separate episodes? Huh?

I can't imagine that's really such a huge portion of the market that they'd go so far out of their way just to sucker you all into it. C'mon, now.

 

homing attack - yes, it removes any element of challenge from 2d style gameplay. Players don't have to time their jumps anymore, they just mash the button and the enemies get defeated. It really is that big of a game breaker for a 2d platformer. Isn't it just great when the game does things for you, like aim at your enemies? Excusable in 3d, not in 2d.

and yes, its bad to be cheap. Don't you know what cheap means? It means little effort and expenditure and that's exactly what sonic 4 is. 'low risk' means they already think it's not going to do so well. Now if you're investing in something you don't think will do well, are you going to put more work into it than you have to? Of course not.

classic sonic - implementing the classic design would be a great way of giving the game it's own personality. If you really want to give people a retro feel, why give them a 'adventure sonic' style game? Because they're LAZY. Why do something intelligent like make a 2d game with 2d graphics? No we'll just re-use as much stock stuff as we can.

Sonic games have been awful quality for about a decade now, maybe a little less. Wouldn't it make sense that they're grasping at straws now and doing everything they can to make more sales? Its no secret that sonic's sales have been slipping (Minus unleashed) So if you can delay a game, do almost nothing to fix it, and then tell your fanbase that you've given them jesus's head on a platter just because they delayed it, wouldn't you do it too? It'll make plenty of cash.

 

As far as the homing attack goes, I thought it was something like this:


1 is how the originals played out, 2 is where you get the option for it and 3 is one of those annoying times when it's forced upon you. From the videos I've seen, there's a fair amount of 2 which is honestly ok with me. Not the best way to add different paths, but eh. It's alright. 3 on the other hand is a moment of bad design you're forced to use such an unimaginative and potentially unfair method progression.

 

well in example 2, you don't need the homing attack at all. Or at least you shouldn't. Just jump on the first enemy, then hold right and bounce off the second, etc, etc.

 

You don't need it in 3 either then, because you could just bounce along. That requires timing and aiming, but is kinda tedious, no? So homing attack or not, it's crappy design. A better drawn example would show that you could use the enemies to reach a different path in 2.

 

From what I've been told when watching streams, you can Goomba bounce. The problem is that all too often you're made to use the homing attack, which of course doesn't let you bounce.

 

Scenario 1 isn't actually very commonly in the classic games, there's usually something else going on, like a moving platform or a spring or some other level specific set piece. A homing attack chain can only be a homing attack chain.