Yeah, I wouldn't take this as immediately "NO BOOST BUTTON CONFIRMED!!11", but I do find it intriguing they want to at least experiment with Boost-less gameplay. For linear stages I've always preferred Boost to Adventure gameplay, but having no Boost could maybe benefit an Open Zone styled game. Or not, who knows! I am certainly interested to see where the series takes us next.
Think of twitter as a blog post that’s short and full of incoherent rambling thoughts that strangers can interact with. Frontiers JUST came out and a lot can change in the next few years before we see the next game.
A lot can change, but I honestly can't help but be happy seeing this news. I like all the boost games except Unleashed, but one criticism that has existed from the start and that I think makes a lot of sense is that it demands long levels that you blow through extremely quickly, which is a huge strain on development. Unleashed, Colors, Generations, Forces and Frontiers all had to reuse a lot of environments and pad themselves out via werehog, wisps and missions (it's okay in Frontiers). Lost World technically did this too, but I only had to go back for flickies like once, and it managed to be as long as Colors or Generations with pretty much only unique stages. There are plenty of things to criticize about that game, but the lack of a boost clearly helped it in some ways. Now, Lost World also proves that a lack of boost does not a Sonic Adventure make, but it is good to see this when we know they can make a better-controlling game and we know Kishimoto understands the talk of good physics.
I’d argue Lost World is still a boost game. Just instead of boosting its a spin dash that serves the same function. Hell Super Sonic literally just boosts
Lost World, when it plays like a conventional Sonic game, has little in common with the boost games. Even how the Spin Dash works is still very different from how the boost worked. I'd saybthe biggest indicator is the auto run segments, which are more like '06's mach speed sections that a typical boost level. Frontiers in general is closer to Lost World than boost games, tbh
Removing the Boost isn't going to magically make physics better so this news doesn't really do anything for me. Might allow for someone other than Sonic to be playable since the play style wouldn't be as constrained to just "go fast"
I see the right trigger as more of an analogue to LW’s run button than the standard boost (and not just because of the placement). Sonic’s tighter turning radius with the boost allows me to pretty much constantly have it held unlike in boost games, though its utility in the air is the exact same. I can’t remember enough of LW’s design to comment on how similar that is to Frontiers, but I see most of the memory token challenges as being pretty standard boost-type design. I really don’t mind Frontiers’ current control scheme or ground controls. I think the game falters the most with midair controls. Sonic has to do the Mario 64-style half-circle turnaround when in the air and it can get real annoying to make precise landings. The air drag factor is also too high on non-rail jumps and jumping off an incline at rough terrain almost always eats your jump instead of transferring your momentum upward. There’s a good base overall but it really needs some tweaks. Btw, did anyone notice how the drop dash actually varies in speed depending on how long you hold it? I was messing around with the stomp-boost cancel and decided to drop dash from the stratosphere, and realized that the move does rev itself when watching the speedometer. The move is also influenced by your speed level as a drop dash from any height will max out the speedometer on my max level save file, but my level 1 Sonic barely hits half speed when doing a short one. I don’t know how I feel about the move’s speed being variable, but it’s nice to see some thought went into it. It’s a far cry from an ideal translation of the 2D physics, but the velocity also responds to changes in the terrain decently well. The biggest issue is that you can’t control when you uncurl.
I'd be interested in seeing a well-handling 3D Sonic that doesn't need a run/boost button, and whatever shift in level design we might see from such a change, though I'm not sure I care to see how many times it'd take Sonic Team to figure it out. (Hell, in one big way I think Frontiers's dash mechanic is a step down from the prior boost system: Jumps immediately canceling the dash mode necessitates an obscene amount of re-pressing the dash button to keep up the pace, especially with the rest of the physics changes, and the cyberspace levels felt like an active fight to maintain speed.) With that said, if they are gonna take out the boost button, I'd say they should put in a roll button or something similar. I think Sonic benefits from having a directionless "keep going" input that lets the level design guide him without the risk of unintentionally telling him to change course or slam the brakes. Maybe that combined with careful level design could even let the trademark 3D automation loosen its grip a little.
Are there any other major game developers that have been THIS transparent with their game development? This close to release especially? I have never seen a game developer of a currently-selling recognizable game go online and freely share developer insight, and even talk about scrapped content modders are discovering. He's not leaving much to speculation. That feels kind of refreshing, especially for this game which was notoriously secretive for a long time.
Oh nice. I thought this wasn't out yet because I've yet to receive my copy. Turns out that actually the 4LP version isn't it until February. Is there anything interesting in Tomoya Ohtani's notes?
I’ve been putting off getting sonic frontiers however the mod scene has gotten incredible and I’m really tempted now. I’m just curious: which physics mod is currently the best? The two I’ve heard the most about are Showin’s momentum mod and Trackers physics tweaks. I was wondering what the retro community thought. Is the best physics mod one of those two, or an entirely different one?
Showin's momentum mod in my experience is a completely different feel from vanilla Frontiers. It doesn't feel like a changed version of Frontier's control scheme, it feels like it's something brand new. It's heavily reliant on momentum and gaining speed down slopes, with the boost being not very useful. It's also a bit overtuned to the point of some vanilla segments being difficult or even impossible to finish. Tracker's mod, on the other hand, still feels like Frontiers controls, but with many nudges towards something better. Your top speed without boosting is higher, and you're just faster in general. There is noticeable momentum influence that makes just running around a lot more fulfilling, but you don't have to rely on it to go fast. The Drop Dash is immensely more controllable and is a ton of fun to use. You don't just grind to a halt if you jump at high speed. It also changes the Cyberspace physics to be closer to the island control scheme, but not exactly the same, and is way better than vanilla Cyberspace. I would personally recommend Tracker's mod because it feels like the ideal version of this game's controls. Sonic feels so good with this mod, and now I don't think I could go without it.
The spindash in Sonic Adventure was already a boost in practice. Where is Tracker’s mod? I can find only Showin’s.
Not really, still nice notes and some nice concept art. I tried for the Limited Edtion 4LP too, but it sold out straight away.
Maybe an obvious question, but do mods mess with unlocking achievements at all on Steam? I've already 100%'d Frontiers but for when the DLC content starts dropping I wouldn't mind replaying with some of the physics/QOL fan mods, but I also don't want to lock myself out of unlocking anything if SEGA adds anything new achievement wise. I *need* that superficial endorphin hit. Also game was good, even great in sections but still needs some major polish in areas and feels more like the foundation for the new era of Sonic than a proper jump like Sonic Adventure or Unleashed felt like. I'll still gladly take it and its reference-heavy Ian Flynn writing over every other major Sonic game post-Generations, Mania aside obviously.
The only thing I can imagine mods effecting is whether the game itself registers your progress, it shouldn't do anything to the achievements if the game still works. Like, I'm using a mod to skip the map animation when finishing mini challenges, and even though the map updates, the island select shows it as 0%. I can't get rid of the map achievements to check, but something like that may effect them. Physics, combat, models, lighting and such shouldn't do anything, though.
