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Sonic Generations Hacking (and More!)

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Andrew75, Jun 23, 2011.

  1. Jimmy Hedgehog

    Jimmy Hedgehog

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    Well duh, but that wasn't my point at all. It'd be fun for the game to not FORCE you at times. I'd like to be able to finish a level in it's entirety without getting hit for not boosting, is my point. The example I already gave being a perfect example.
     
  2. Iggy for Short

    Iggy for Short

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    From what I can tell, it seems to happen way more often with mods that change the sound/music files.
     
  3. SonicHyuga

    SonicHyuga

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    Sky Rail (Generations) and Aquarium Park (Generations)
    This generally can happen when you have more than one mod active that modify the same file(s).
     
  4. Iggy for Short

    Iggy for Short

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    I honestly think it's a sound file thing; I pretty much never have this issue with custom levels and model swaps, but it happens somewhat often when I'm trying out mods which swap around sound files.
     
  5. Faseeh

    Faseeh

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    Might as well...

    Well, anyways, I was wondering about Hang Castle. Some say the original used those blue thingies as teleporters and didn't have to do with gravity. Some say it flipped gravity and that was used as a trigger. I was thinking of doing a Hang Castle mod so yeah, as far as I know gravity can't be flipped in Generations, but you can do the Hang Castle kinda teleporting via Sky Sanctuary 'telporters' so I'd like some confirmation if possible.

    Damn, I wish I could rip non-Heroes stages D:
     
  6. Joe T.E.

    Joe T.E.

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    Big the Cat in Sonic Generations, High-Res HUD for Sonic Lost World, Metal Sonic Lost World (Version 1.0,) Sonic Generations: Episode Metal (Version 3.0.)
    Hmm... That DOES seem like it could be the problem.
    Super Sonic Generations had some minor sound effect swaps (and the loading screens freeze every now and then while I play it.) Metal Sonic Generations has numerous non-music sound edits (and the loading screens freeze A LOT.)
    I need to test other character mods (like Shadow, Silver, mephiles, etc.) to see if it happens to them too.

    I know for a fact that Hang Castle's blue-spheres are actually teleporters. The stage itself has two sets of geometry (one normal, one upside down.)
    Also, the problem with using Sky Sanctuary's teleporters is that they aren't instantaneous, and the camera follows Sonic as he travels along the path.

    I learned all of that when I tried importing Robot Storm, which uses the exact same gimmick as Hang Castle.

    For anyone who remembers that, I haven't worked on it since I last mentioned it.
     
  7. Faseeh

    Faseeh

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    Thanks Joe!

    I guess I'll have to stick to Frog Forest.

    Hey Parax. Ya were having some problem with ripping Heroes stages right? Still have them? I'd like to see if I can help with that and the stage if ya want...

    Also, there are three holes in Frog Forest, that'd I'd like to remodel as fake water. If anybody can help with this, do tell me. :)
     
  8. Chris Highwind

    Chris Highwind

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    Either this stage is getting better or I am, considering I managed to get through the majority of the latest version (the video) of this stage without losing a life other than restarting.
     
  9. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    I think the sound issues are what's causing the freezing. I have a music mod I made for myself and the thing freezes like every 10 levels (or if I enter the music selection screen, back out, and re enter it).
     
  10. TimmiT

    TimmiT

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    I don't mean to discredit any modders here, but what's with all the Sonic 2006 level ports? The game being incredibly buggy and barely playable is far from the only problem with the game, another particularly big problem is that the level design is terrible. The only thing based on Sonic 2006 that could maybe work out is a new level based on Kingdom Valley. The only games where directly porting levels from makes sense are Unleashed and some levels from Sonic Colours (The latter being a problem due to the Wisp abilities in the game). Sonic isn't meant to move around in open spaces like in Sonic 2006 in Generations, so the levels don't really work well in the game even if they'd be well designed.
     
  11. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Modern Sonic's engine is competent enough even at slower speed to allow Sonic 06's levels to work. Plus, it's fun to see these levels sort of work, design issues aside. Even if Modern Sonic concentrates around boost boost boost, he probably controls the best in 3D since SA1, and this engine is much better than that game.

    Personally I like the idea of porting 06 and Heroes levels. I want to see what these levels would be like in games that aren't total shit.
     
  12. Chimera

    Chimera

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    Who started his warped, inaccurate mentality. Someone please tell me.

    I'd go into more specifics but this isn't the place; Generations is NOT all about boost boost boost other than Green Hill which is one of the most stretched out levels in the game, and past that the only area you NEED to boost is one part in Seaside Hill to get past a pit with water over it. It's just a fucking run button! What's everyone's campaign against it?! sigh...

    They would be boring or awkward unless the level layout was reworked entirely. I understand wanting to try to play a level that you think is cool but without all the bugs, but keep in mind the stages were designed around the shitty control engines the games had at the time. Even Paraxade had to make a lot of adjustments for his Kingdom Valley import!

    I know this isn't the easiest thing to do, but if people would try practicing making completely original layouts and seeing what's fun instead of trying to port from games that werent meant to be played with Modern Sonic's refined—and different—control scheme, we might just get a lot of fun levels. They don't even need to be artistically stunning; I think melpontro's stage looks insanely fun, and the art in that stage is seriously incomplete. But, because he and Hinchy worked their asses off trying to make it fun rather than artistically amazing (though they did make it ook rather nice for what it is), what we have is a level with a bunch of routes in it in a way that feels natural and not forced which, sadly, would be the case with most direct 06 / heroes / adventure ports. :/

    That's my spheal... oh and JoeTE, nice job on Metal Sonic :P
     
  13. P3DR0

    P3DR0

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    Have to agree with Chimera. The only past stages that are reusable in Generations are Unleashed ones due it's similarity of engines, but even in Unleashed port we see that Dario 'n the whole team need to work their asses to modify some segments or two so it looks good and plays right.

    I liked the Flame Core stage a couple of posts ago, I really did. But there are a lot of differences in the engine that requires the stage to be modifyied. Instead what we see is a lazy atempt (no disrespect to the creator, obviously) to "work around" the flaws. Like adding the fans to allow Sonic to reach other spots or that whole semi-transparent blue wall to mimick the doors in the original stage. In my opinion not just that is artistically terrible to look at (both of them) but it is also a bad decision since Generations' engine is focused on speed rather then that whole forced exploration that Sonic 06 tryied so hard to do.

    The same can be said to most of the old-stage ports that we see. It's ok to wanting to have older levels in the game, after all that's what Sonic Generations is all about: a celebration of Sonic's history. But there is a reason why Sonic Team didn't just copy and pasted the older stages in the game and called it a day, and it ain't just for looks, trust me. In the end this results on uninteresting stages that fails to deliver the game any sense of naturality. Wave Ocean's mod is a proof of that, where Sonic can't barelly boost.

    Just look at Sonic Melponterations or Sonic Adventure Generations. Both are based on remaking older levels in the same fashion Generations did, wider and bigger segments for the boost, larger stages, almost none forced plataform sections that requires the player to stop all the flow of his gameplay just to jump some shit. Sonic's older 3d games were more linear and weren't focused on speed like Generations or Unleashed were, they didn't even had boost or some sort of ability that allowed Sonic to run really fast. So, in order to make the stages last longer there were added plataform sections, and since the games weren't really that fast to begin with, the break of flow wasn't really noticeable, but in Generations it is. Imagine that, you're running as fast as you can in, Green Hill, whatever. Then you enter that cave and instead of having the giant robot piranha or the rail segment, you're granted with a heavy plataform section over some bottomless pit, so in one moment you're at mach 1 speed and the other you're at the speed of a snail jumping copy and pasted plataforms. This is not fun, this is forced. This is the Werehog (after a shitty cool ass speed stage comes a boring and long plataformer).

    You want to port an older stage? Ok. I'm not demanding you to make it one hundread percent custom made or some shit like that but at least modify it's scale and instead of lazyngly (is that even a word) placing stuff (like the fans that I mentioned) to cover the holes created by the different engines, try to open your favorite 3D program and model the shit out of a cool segment for that hole. Play with the level design, cut stuff out, place in different locations, add some cool shit. In the end, if someone wanted to see an older stage like it was, all he/she has to do is go to youtube and search for it and they'll probably have a much better time doing so than playing a stage on a engine that wasn't made for it and full of random crap placed here and there.

    It is honestly just a waste of fucking time. Yours, mine and everybody else.
    Or just continue shitty-porting older stages and working around the flaws and then hoping that someone have the time of their lifes with it.
     
  14. Chris Highwind

    Chris Highwind

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    This is why Colors is my least favorite out of the Unleashed Trilogy (Unleashed/Colors/Generations). The first couple of acts in each zone are speed stages, then the rest slow you down and become platformers, which tends to kill the fun for me, though others may like it. Doesn't mean I don't like Colors, I'd just rather play Unleashed or Generations instead.
     
  15. Azu

    Azu

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    Sonic Generations is becoming like Blitz Sonic with random stage ports.
     
  16. Jay T.

    Jay T.

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    While I do enjoy looking at these ports and all (can't play them yet due to no good video card), I personally would like to see the creators get more, well, creative with the level design, like the mod of Emerald Coast and Melponterations for example. I understand that it's completely different than just porting and requires a ton of work. Just a random thought.
     
  17. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Who says I'm against it? I love Modern Sonic. I literally just meant that he boosts, and that's different than his previous 3D games where he doesn't
     
  18. Chimera

    Chimera

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    Well ok then :P other people seem to be against it though, and I can't grasp why aaaaaaaaaa

    JoeTE: Metal Sonic's jump doesn't have an effect in my install... Is there a reason for this or a bug?
     
  19. Joe T.E.

    Joe T.E.

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    Big the Cat in Sonic Generations, High-Res HUD for Sonic Lost World, Metal Sonic Lost World (Version 1.0,) Sonic Generations: Episode Metal (Version 3.0.)
    Are you talking about missing SFX, or missing graphical effects?

    If it's sound, all of the sound swaps I did are nowhere near as loud as they should be, so there's a chance that you won't be able to hear the new sound effects.

    If it's graphics, then that's normal. I removed the spin-jump's graphical effects because they don't work too well with Metal Sonic's un-movable "quills".

    Also, whenever I start working on Metal Sonic Generations: Version 2, I'll attempt to implement a Sonic Adventure 2 styled spin-jump effect.
     
  20. Jimmy Hedgehog

    Jimmy Hedgehog

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    I'm not really against it, just those couple times were you DO need to boost would be nice if they weren't there, make if fully optional. It's still fun to use either way, some people just like to mix it up a little. Also, my City Escape example still stands. Sure it doesn't kill you, but losing your rings for not boosting is a bit of a questionable design choice :P