Sonic 2 HD

Okay so... I'd been watching Sonic 2 HD development for quite some time already. At first I didn't liked the game much, it just looked like Sonic 2 with MSSA filter applyied onto it, so it looks rouded and stuff. But I kept watching it's development thread here on retro, and after seeing the ideas into it, the concept arts, etecetera... I got a bit excited because it seemed like the developers were making something more than just a game with vectorized (is that even a word?) sprites in it. After watching the remake of the two Monkey Island games, I thought "Hey, maybe that's the way they're heading to... An remake, very solid to the original but with custom and more colorful graphics":



Sooooo... Imagine my disapointment when I finally got my hands into the game (I know its alpha, but whatever) and found out that was the same thing that I'd saw on it's very beginning: A remake with MSSA filter on the sprites (I know they'd been redone, but it's pratically the same feel) but now, even worst, it have Sonic with a terrible pallete (that will disappear on Chemical Plant due the horrible pallete), rings that barelly can be seen on the scenary and that's it. It's seemed that the effort was minimal besides the title screen, the tiles now look even worst because now they look lifeless and stuff.

And the worst part is, on the readme file itself says:

Or you guys aren't much imaginative or creative or your interpretation of "today" standarts are from a few years ago... Like ten.

Here comes my expectation of S2HD (big image) made today using only photoshop in 1~2 hours:

Spoiler

Yes, I drew a whole scene, from the scratch just to prove my point. This is how much disappointed I'm at this game. Sue me.

 

If this project was a democracy, I would vote for Taxman and the artists to join up. Maybe this would then come to consoles and other devices like phones.

 

I guess I should take back what I originally said about this project because...

...is the most pathetic shit I've ever heard. You mean to tell me you can't place your own objects on your own engine in their original layouts because of.. oh that's right, that's no excuse.

You're the programmer, you're the one setting objects in place, as well as blatantly adding new ones that weren't there prior in the original game, and you wanna pull that excuse out of your ass? Wow. I mean what's the point of following these fan projects when there's always someone there to screw it all up and make the rest of the contributors look like shit? The few things alone that screwed this up are all it took to completely have people lose faith in it. I'm not trying to be an asshole, because I do respect peoples' hard work, but this will never be finished. I don't think anyone is going to wait any longer on these proposed fan games, especially ones that are only trying to be visually perfect remakes of an original game. It seems like all of it is just for proof-of-concept.

This whole project was conceived in 2008 and only one level has actually been completed since. You tell me, is this worth it? No. I applaud all the hard work put in by everyone but one. The best you can do is fix everything that's wrong with EHZ and be done with it. Everyone knows it, whether they wanna admit it or not.

 

My god, that's a terrible example. Just look at that horrible Guybrush, not to mention the fire also looks like it was made in a different style than the rest of the background.

Also, if I remember correctly, some of the new backgrounds in MI2 even have leftovers of eagle-like filters being applied to the original graphics before tracing over them.

So... no.

EDIT: For the record, I actually bought that remake just so I'd be able to play a talkie version with the old graphics, in SCUMMVM.

 

EDIT: Phew, read it wrong. Disregard, please...

 

Wasn't it attempting to prevent screenshots/video capture?

edit@above: I know I'm definitely not recommending this to any of my (neckbeard) friends after what happened with that last one. (System infected, blames S2HD, blames me, somehow excused for his own stupidity in wrecking his system) That counts as a boycott of sorts, right?

 

I'm boycotting in the sense the laptop I'm using won't run it because it thinks it's a virus and I can't by pass it unless I uninstall the anti virus program which I can't do but cause its not my laptop.

Hope this is updated soon.

 

I was trying to make light of the situation really. Not saying that boycotting is a silly thing but I'm think it may be a bit of an over reaction in the same fashion that the DRM was implemented.

 

I'm just gonna say it: Perhaps LOst should just finally stop being so stubborn and paranoid and just finally understand that letting your work be able to be worked on by other programmers != Erryone on the planet immediately taking it and making crappy clones of it.

Dude, you've done very well, VERY well.....we can all agree there......but seriously, with all we just saw, it's obvious you're afraid of things going lolcrazy if you let it be able to be looked into by others. I understand wanting to keep your code from being used for crappy fangames and what-not, but ya gotta realize that at some point.....ya just have to finally let your pride down and just let others help work on it. Trust me, there are various benefits to this: The project gets done faster, people get to help, and you can still be the main person responsible for the coding. If there's one thing ya got to learn, LOst.....its that a helping hand is a GOOD thing, and it will help you both get things done as well as allow you to still keep an eye on it without worrying about it not going well.

Also, about the DRM.......ya should realize that in a world where even the best DRM gets broken down in time and the assets gotten afterwards, all you're doing is harming the people who wish to see what goodies are inside, and more likely just the average joe who just wants to play the game and goof around a little with it. At the least, have some fun with it for those bein' nosy. Give 'em surprises, some stuff to keep 'em both busy and happy if ya don't want them to see your work and they try to pry.

Look, the point is......for 5 years you've been.....kind of silly with this, but I think ya can still be able to turn things around and make things awesome again. If only because I believe that if ya can do so, you can likely be able to give everyone a new, more positive opinion of you.

I dunno what'll happen next, but I figured I'd at least give reasoning a try. :v:

 

In a rather peculiar and hillarious turn of events. Despite playing the game successfully two times before, when I tried to start up Sonic 2 HD just now my virus scanner went beserk and nuked it on the spot. I understand that L0st's DRM is causing problems, but what could have changed on my third time opening the game to cause a problem now?

 

XDD that does look better... I think the reason why you don't see it in S2HD like that is originalpixelfag-discussions from before. Or something, I don't even know =P

EDIT: before I get missunderstood by humourless idiots, I realized that it wasn't the point of this project to look like this in the first place :P

 

So, like, apparently you missed the entire point of the S2HD project. It's about a FAITHFUL recreation of the original styles. Not a "ZOMG look let's throw a shit ton of ambient lighting, glow, and godray effects on some hand drawn art and call it modern!!!111one!".

 

But it's not about being faithful. The reason it looks like this is because the designers have very limited imaginations. Everything is upscaled by hand, with small amounts of additional detail thrown in at the most random and obscure points.

Tell me, Team S2HD, is adding emeralds to the tree trunks the limit of your artistic imagination? Because that's the vibe I'm getting from this project.

 

If all of you spent as much energy on building as you do on bitching, this community could be doing some great work.

 

Why the hell would I want to play this and inflate LOst's obviously overinflated ego? Fuck him and this project if this is how it's being handled.