Sonic Mania (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC...Netflix?)

I finally got around to finishing my review, writing isn't really one of my strongest points and I'm sure typing it up in Notepad++ caused some strange formatting issues after I posted it to my tumblr blog but enjoy I guess? I also sort of got lazy towards the end and didn't review the last few levels in the game. :v:
Mania Review

 

I have the same exact issue, but backwards: I have the Gold achievement but not the Silver achievement for some reason.

 

I have both a GPU and an APU. I didn't even realize that I apparently switched back to using my APU for some reason, but switching to my GPU didn't make a difference. What's strange is that the game was only using 20-25% before, but now it's using 28-30% of my CPU's power regardless of what I use.

 

Rather interesting notes from that out of all of the remixed zones' music: there's a sliding scale in how remixed the tracks can get, with Sonic 3&K being the strictest (Sonic 3 being stricter than S&K), Sonic CD being the loosest, and Sonic 1/2 serving as a middle ground.

Both Act 1 and Act 2 tracks for Hydrocity are virtually identical to the originals, in composition, tempo, and instruments (only a handful of new instruments are added). These are more akin to rearrangements of the original tracks.

Flying Battery and Lava Reef are largely identical, but have subtle changes. Flying Battery Act 2 and Lava Reef Act 1 have their main melodies extended a bit for an additional few loops; while Lava Reef Act 2 runs at a noticeably slower tempo than the original. These tracks also use instruments to make parts of the track sound significantly different from the original compositions. They could be said to be mild remixes of the originals.

The Act 1 tracks for Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Oil Ocean are identical to the original songs, but the Act 2 tracks are more varied in composition, tempo, and instruments. They have been changed enough to be considered new "Act 3" mixes of the original tracks.

Both Act 1 and Act 2 tracks for Stardust Speedway and Metallic Madness are the same as the GH/CP/OO Act 2 remixes, albeit on a stronger scale due have more new material added to their compositions.

 

That's awesome! Tails does something similar in the Sonic Mega Drive comic as he tries to cool himself down near lava. I love how his tail fur gets all jaggy for a frame after the gunk falls on his head.

 

Is there an explanation for the missing zone transitions yet? I saw a comment on SSMB saying that every time someone asks the developers about it, they get no response. Idk, that just seems really suspicious for a seemingly innocent question, did SEGA demand to remove them while holding the devs at gunpoint or something?

 

So my assumption was wrong. :thinking:

Now the only other things on my mind is Denuvo, or lopsided optimization. I have seen the latter happen with the PC port of Risky's Revenge, because my desktop's AMD APU plays it at 1080p with barely 3-6% CPU usage, whereas my Intel laptop chugs at 33%, and it only reaches higher based on the size of the resolution. Pirate's Curse, however, runs extremely nice on both PCs; super battery friendly on my laptop, even at the screen's native resolution in fullscreen. I guess WayForward's programmers for PC ports iterated their approach with that game.

 

I hope SEGA has the same deal that other devs have had with Denuvo where if it gets cracked fast enough, it gets removed from the game.

 

It's not so much that it gets removed so much as Sega gets a refund. They can leave it in there I think.

 

I heard it might've been because some of the zones were swapped around late into development, resulting in a lack of time for new zone transitions. Don't take my word on that, though.

 

If that's the case then I also want a refund
I already have the switch version

 

Aww that Tails animation. Why on earth leave that out.

 

Anyone else having the PC version crash after the Titanic Monarch boss while playing in Knuckles & Knuckles mode?

 

It has been said some pages ago, someone was doing a no-save play with all emeralds and it crashed on entering the boss section. It must be a recurrent bug.

 

I'm in the same boat. My laptop has an i7-7700HQ and GTX 1050Ti (albeit with Optimus) and it tries to murder my laptop regardless. To reiterate what I said to Sega: Sonic CD '11 doesn't do this, Freedom Planet doesn't do this, Sonic 4 Episode 2 doesn't do this, N++ doesn't do this, even some relatively modern 3D games aren't this demanding. Whatever the problem is, it really needs to be fixed.

 

It couldn't possibly be denuvo, could it?

Nah.

SEGA wouldn't be that stupid. They know best! No such thing as clueless old men in suits where they don't belong, nope!

 

I'm slowly getting tempted to find a way to get Mania for PC, if only for more convenient play than getting on my PS4 being used by a family member and the fact of mods being able to tweak and improve or alter things.

 

I just got the last Gold Medal!

I'm going the fuck to bed :v:

 

I looked up a speed run of Hydrocity 1 on Youtube to figure out a path where I could avoid the bubble sections, and several hours later, I'm in 3rd place for Sonic at 1:20:93 on the Switch version :v:

The player that made the video appears to be in second, but I don't really want to try improving anymore. Tired of drowning and getting grabbed lol

This stage is really weird- the fastest way through involves avoiding the upper paths entirely, spending quite a bit of time in the water, and sticking towards the middle of the level. HC1 is actually pretty zippy if you don't find yourself floating around in a bubble.

 

Yeah, I've had this happen to me, too. I've even got it on recording from stream footage. Real unfortunate bug.