Agreed. The music thing is fixable via mods anyway, while console players can just turn off the music temporarily in the settings and play their song of choice off YouTube or something. Of course I’d like for them to replace the music with the better-sounding versions from the later prototype so that people playing this for the first time will at least hear something more fitting, but until then I think fixing the bugs should be higher priority. It’s why I haven’t even bought the game yet - I’m not buying a buggy incomplete game. But I’m still interested in how this game turns out once everything is fixed because it sounded like a sweet deal before it came out.
I think this was a nice exercise of writing this kind of letters, even if it doesn't become real. Some "style guide", if you wish. That's why I bothered replying so late, I have far more serious cocerns about this product.
^This… but also we should highlight that denuvo should be removed. The performance on PCs (including reports from people with higher end hardware) is abysmal. Sega could remove denuvo from the PC version and immediately improve the performance. It won’t fix all the issues but it’d be a major improvement
I somewhat disagree. We want bug fixes prioritized, sure. But Sega is only going to budget for so many updates to this game before moving on. If we wait too long on music, there will be zero chance of it ever happening. If we go after it now, it'll at least be on the radar while they're deciding what changes to make. I also agree with the idea of giving the Hidden Palace tweet as much attention as possible. But we can do that in conjunction with letters to emphasize what it means to us.
Great letter. My only suggestion would be to clarify what you mean by the music’s “original form.” Are u referring to replacing Jun’s new arrangements with the original proto tracks?
Wow, I miss when Word looked like that. So, is the idea here that we all actually send physical letters to Sega? Because the uniqueness of doing that in this day and age stands a better chance of getting some kind of attention than just shooting emails into the ether.
I still doubt the success, but it would be better if you specify from where they should take the music. Perhaps they have a bunch of prototypes that we don't know about, and this will only confuse them. Ideally, you need to convey to them drx's tweet in which he offered help.
IMO only people with a platform such as yours could elevate this issue - letter writing campaigns aren't a thing anymore, but social media backlash is. (Side-note, I'm a big fan and patron!)
I'd say a more positive attitude would probably help get it read and acted on - rather than just "fans are disappointed", maybe frame it that fans are disappointed because we know these are great games and want them to be presented in the best way possible. The bit with the bulleted list at the end does come off a bit like it's supposed to be an ultimatum, which doesn't really help - I'd suggest a polite and positive tone would be preferable, though making sure to still clearly highlight the many issues being discussed. Re: the music issue, I would really write assuming whoever's reading knows absolutely nothing about the music situation, as let's face it, who outside of our fandom bubble really has a clear picture of what's happened here? Even some of our information is guesswork, albeit reasonably well-informed in terms of evidence that the tracks heard in Origins are likely earlier versions than those in the prototype. In short - much more detail is required. The following's pretty rambly and definitely needs a good edit, but I think it gives an idea of how much information's needed: Key points I tried to hit here: Recap that some music had to be replaced Mention that the prototype exists - this is pretty much key to getting this resolved in the manner we're hoping for, as if they don't know about it they can't very well source anything from it. It also means we're actively presenting a solution to the issue highlighted, which may make it more likely to be acted on rather than ignored Flag up that in that build the music for certain tracks is much more polished and complete (including info on exactly which) Point out the offer from Hidden Palace on Twitter Ask that they take the offer seriously and liase with them to have the cartridge sent for recording Again, tried to keep things polite and positive, pointing out some fans have been excited to hear this music in an official release, and stressing that we appreciate the hard work of the original team back in 1993 and want to hear it presented in the best manner possible. To be honest, I'm almost tempted to say that the music issue and the general glitchiness should be addressed in separate letters, as they're targeting two separate issues with the game. By all means go after both, but in my opinion, to get the music addressed properly we'll have to include enough detail that it'd be a bit cumbersome to include it as part of a letter with a much wider focus. I'd also say that, once a letter/e-mail has been drafted, it might be worth seeing if we have anyone fluent enough in Japanese here to provide a translated version to send to SEGA of Japan. Sending a letter to the English-speaking branches is all well and good, but if the power to enact change resides in Japan it'd be prudent to have a version which can be sent there directly.
This is a wonderful idea. Ontop of this, I highly encourage everyone to write a respectful separate letter ontop of this. Bonus points for Japanese letters (assuming Sonic Team still has an office in Japan?) Why? Because businesses tend to listen when it's multiple sources saying the same thing, versus one. "Okay, EVERYONE is complaining about this from all angles ... maybe we should care more." As someone that's worked in corporate settings before.
I’d say send the letter you have and post it here in text form instead of screenshots so other people can use it if they want to. Retro won’t agree on something if you keep asking for feedback.
It was all talk, this is an internet forum after all, you're going to need to be amazingly charismatic if you're going to get people off their computers and make them check their mailbox for the first time in 20 years
For those who care, maybe we should establish some plan. The first thing that pops in my head is where to send the letters. Does Sega have a P.O. Box for fan letters, or is the only way we reach out via their office in California? I don't think this was ever established. And knowing this would help motivate people to actually send. https://www.sega.com/corporate Sega of America has two offices. I honestly have no idea which would make sense to send a letter to. Alternatively, if letters were sent online, I don't know of a way to do that. In the '90s, you could e-mail them. That doesn't appear to be possible anymore, at least from what I can tell.
I've got a letter printed out and ready to go. Just need to find an envelope, haha. It'll probably do nothing, but hey, it's worth a shot! I'd guess the best place to send an English letter would be, from Sega's corporate site... Sega of America, Inc. (Sonic Pillar Head Office) 250 East Olive Avenue, Suite 200, Burbank, CA 91502 United States
I was going to ring SEGA Europe's Head Office to ask about where to send this sort of enquiry last Friday, but messed up their opening hours and rang too late in the day. I'm currently unable to for the next week but will happily do it a week Monday if nobody else has beforehand.
