I wonder if this cringy video is hinting at the game's plot and the Master Emerald will be stolen again and used to power a Death Egg mech or giant badnik: [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upUKxZfjiKs[/media] Maybe Knuckles starts off in Marble Zone and that's why the bats are there. Or Aaron's just trolling. :v:
Is that video supposed to be official? Is that from the same people managing the Sonic Twitter account?
Yes it's the official Sonic YouTube channel. I was just assuming that Aaron uploads the videos by the way.
It wasn't declared so far, but currently Sega is not releasing their games on PC in any other version but "steam-ed" (maybe I've missed some indie games which were developed by someone else and only published by Sega), so unfortunately - there are quite small chances for anything else (although I've voted for Sonic Mania on GOG's wishlist anyway, fight till last breath, soldier!)
Just realized I've been peeking in at this thread for a bit without saying anything so hey! I'm saying a thing. I'm more excited about this than any Sonic announcement in maybe the last 15 or so years, which isn't to say I'm not still reserved about it, but yeah. I'm just kinda worried about the level design, like it seems a few people in here are. I flat out didn't like the new Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic 2 iOS, the stage or the boss really, which makes me a little wary about Sonic Mania. I'll obviously have to play it before I pass judgement or anything, and I'm hopeful, but the worry is there. I'm definitely not worried about the art and music though, that's all super great! Studiopolis Zone's music sounds like a lost Sonic CD track, it's kind of amazing how much Tee absolutely nailed it. Sonic's new sprite is great and the background art is gorgeous. Not to mention all the obscure as hell references in there to stuff we've been poring over for forever. I really hope this all turns out for the best. If anyone can do it, you guys can!
Again, LMAO I've been playing S3&K since I was a kid too ya know. It took me years before I could 100% that game. which may have something to do with being a kid. I had Sonic Advance 100% in about a month and def not on easy mode lmao.
Now I'd really, really like to see any of Eggman's bases re-explored, Launch Base in particular. How those places appear after being abandoned would be really cool. And of course I'm still curious to see how Little Planet manages to make an appearance because there's presumably going to be CD stage. In fact, speaking of Little Planet, now we might need to know exactly what happened to it after S4, assuming this game does indeed come after it in the timeline.
Even though you're in pending approval and may never see this, I'm going to explain anyway precisely why fangames aren't fair use, if only because I see people mislabeling crap as fair use all the time and it really gets on my nerves. (Disclaimer: This is based entirely on US law. I don't know international copyright laws nearly well enough to comment meaningfully on them.) Here's what 17 U.S.C. § 107 has to say about it: It's worth noting that this does not provide explicit definitions, just vague factors. As such, fair use's definition has largely been defined based on precedent from U.S. judges over the years. The first one, however, the purpose and character of use, is easily the most clearly defined right in this law and has been expanded on since. We've got a pretty clear list here: Criticism Comment News reporting Teaching Scholarship Research Courts have since expanded this to include parody (a natural extension of criticism and comment) and search engine indexing (a natural extension of research). The thing is... none of this list really applies to the vast majority of fangames. Even a comedy fangame would likely not stand up to the legal definition of parody. For example, the recent Sonic Dreams Collection, though widely classified as parody by the general public and certainly well-received, doesn't really have anything to say about the source material. Rather, it uses Sonic IP as a foundation for entirely unrelated jokes and commentary on the fanbase itself. It may make us laugh, but it doesn't pass this factor. The second factor, the nature of the work, is especially vague, but has been clarified by courts over the years. Among other things, the Sonic games are commercial entertainment. That's one of the hardest things to qualify under this factor, but a strong argument for one of the other three factors would certainly help (as they are all essentially guidelines for courts anyway). This isn't the same as, for example, a fan-work based on something biographical. The third factor, amount and substantiality, is in reference both to how much of the original work is used and how important that portion is. In fangaming, a perfect copy of physics would not and could not be copyrighted in the first place (that would need a patent), but the code would. This isn't generally an issue for fangames. However, the use of Sega's official characters, which are arguably the most important part of the copyrighted material, is a huge part, and makes fangames unlikely to pass this factor either. They're obviously worse off if they use copyrighted art or sound assets (despite that being a comparatively small portion of the game's data in many cases, especially if the fangame has original zones), but even use of the characters alone is quite substantial. The fourth factor, effect upon the work's value, is something that varies based on the individual fangame. Hez's fangame Sonic Classic would almost certainly fail this aspect, as it almost entirely negates any need to purchase the original Sonic the Hedgehog. But even other fangames with original levels could definitely be argued to be competing with official Sonic games based on their quality or if they're accepting donations of any sort (this also hits factor 1, purpose and character of use). Quite frankly, the fact that Sega has allowed Sonic fangames to thrive in the past is irrelevant; plain and simply, they DO fail a basic fair use test in virtually every fashion. The thing about fair use is that it needs to be able to explain why it's fair use. It's not just a label you can slap on something, even if that something isn't making money. Otherwise you could just as easily argue that piracy is fair use as long as it's noncommercial, which is clearly ridiculous. Fangames aren't fair use at all; Sega has every right to shut them down, and they choose not to. That's all there is to it.
I 100%'ed Sonic 3&K the first time I played it. It's really easy. For comparison I have only beaten Sonic 2 in one run twice, and I've never beaten Sonic 1 in one go. I think Sonic 1 is by far the hardest.
There's really two different levels of difficulty to each game: completing all the levels and 100%ing the game. Sonic 2 was super easy to beat any%, but it's much harder to 100% because some of the later special stages are downright cruel and you only have a limited number of chances at them. Sonic 1 was a bit harder in both, for similar reasons, but with a more frustrating special stage. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a fundamentally different beast. It's a much longer game, so an any% run is going to take longer by design. And some of the later stages and bosses do get pretty difficult (though IMO still easier than Sonic 1). But between saves, which turned game overs from a full-game setback to a zone setback, and the ability to go back and redo levels after completion, which let players turn an any% run into a 100% run and allowed players to go back to the most accessible big rings in AIZ and MHZ, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is arguably the easiest game in the series to 100% despite taking longer than its immediate predecessor to any%. Edit: For what it's worth, I've never 100%'d Sonic Advance. I've never even seen the special stage (seriously, how do you get to it?). But it's a really easy game to complete as every character, even in normal. The only level I remember ever giving me any trouble is Egg Rocket Zone, and even that wasn't too difficult to get the hang of.
Thanks for this. More people should be aware of these legal details. Just because something seems like it's morally "fair use", doesn't mean it's legally "Fair Use". I think copyright should change to allow fanworks, though. It's a shame that our culture legally protects parody, but not homage, when the latter is really more noble. I mean, we're lucky in Sega's case, but if things were different and they were super litigious, just think what we'd be missing out on.
I wonder if we'll see any Future aesthetics in a potential CD level, now that the Future is actually the Present. :v:
Sonic 3&K is very forgiving when it comes to special stages because you can find them in various spots in each stage and they are not that difficult but I always felt the S3&K stages themselves were harder than any other classic game. I also never use Tails with Sonic which makes the game more difficult. Knuckles stages are the hardest in the game and I play as him the most. Tails stages are a joke. Sonic 1's special stages are not hard at all. They are just harder to get to because you have to maintain 50 rings and manage not to get hit without the spin dash. You better collect all 6 emeralds by Labyrinth Zone Act 2 or the game will be hell for you after that. Sonic 2 special stages are freaking everywhere but they are hard to beat themselves mainly because you don't see what's coming before it happens. It's all depends on your memory of that special stage or reflexes.
It's great that you made the spin dash sound like some kind of protective armour there. Incidentally, top route of Star Light Zone 2 contains FIVE Super Ring monitors just before the level end, effectively handing a free 'last chance' if you took that route. Mileage may vary from player to player, of course.
Haha we all know it's harder to safely blaze through stages without spin dash. This became obvious in Sonic 1 mobile. Once they added the spin dash, the game became really easy.
Yeah, it doesn't really make sense visually that the "far away mountains" are inside the cave. I really hope that section's background and foreground gets reworked.
