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SADX/SA1 Hacking/Modding

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by MainMemory, Aug 15, 2009.

  1. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    I was torn with what to do with the 1 up icons, as you're right, typically they are represented by the character head. But I went against it in the end for a couple reasons. While it's true the 1 up icons typically are the heads, so is the life icon in the HUD. From what I recall this is true for pretty much every game except this one (Some games use a "1 up" graphic, which I could have used but that's not as fun). Also I could have gone for modernized heads, but idk graphics from the Modern era seem a bit too modern. If we had a good way to replace character models and someone put the modern models in the game, I'd definitely consider. At the same time though, the artwork offers a level of consistency regardless of what model is being used, as it was art used for the game. The original icons were models that are no longer in the game and seemed out of place.

    Speaking of which, I think those were chalked up to laziness. It'd be one thing if all the characters were represented in their classic forms in the 1 up icons, but it's only Sonic (Tails, Knuckles, etc all have their Dreamcast look). And you can kind of tell when they put these icons in the game as Sonic's 1 up icon follows a different naming convention than the rest of them, suggesting that it was made at a different time at least, which would make sense as Sonic's icon looks nothing like his Dreamcast model. Also if you compare the Tails racing icons to the 1 up icons, Tails has the same icon for both, yet Sonic's is very different and looks more like his Dreamcast model than his 1 up icon does. You can also see Classic Sonic in the Tails race mission prompts. And this was well before Classic Sonic nostalgia hit full force. Up until Generations, Sonic Team went all on about how it's the same Sonic etc etc. So seems kind of strange that if that's the case then they'd have Sonic looking 3 different ways in the same game.

    Also I'm not a modeler and would have no idea how to rip the DX models and pose them in ways that look good for the icons lol. If I did I might consider expanding the mod to remove all traces of the DC models.

    On a separate note those, those numbers look a lot better. The ones used in the DC Branding mod don't scale too well but those look rather crisp. I don't know what the name of that HUD font is, otherwise I might update some more stuff as well.
     
  2. Jason

    Jason

    *Results not lab tested. Member
    Not to derail the current discussion, but is there a mod that makes Sonic roll while moving, like Tails and Knuckles? I've been curious to see how much that would effect his gameplay instead of spamming the Spin Dash button.
     
  3. TheKazeblade

    TheKazeblade

    "Our Life is More than a Side-Effect" Member
    Man, seeing the model sans textures really makes me realize the original SA models really were essentially the classic designs adapted to 3D when you get down to it.
     
  4. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    Those look great, like a proper HD version of the original font. Would appreciate a mod of those either way.

    By the way, I've been looking into making HD versions of the skyboxes again. Here's Emerald Coast and Windy Valley 4 times size:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Not brilliant but I eliminated some of the graininess, hopefully would improve the looks of gameplay at least a teeny bit.
     
  5. Atendega

    Atendega

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    Morph to the rescue
     
  6. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    If someone ever figures out how to get the DC character models back into the game, would we be able to replace Metal Sonic with the Metal Sonic that's in the tube in the Final Egg Hub?

    Speaking of Metal Sonic, I know there's the mod that exists that restores his SA2 physics, voices, and animations, but is there a version of that mod that doesn't overwrite Sonic?
     
  7. darkspines35

    darkspines35

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    We have half working DC characters at the moment. The issue boils down to not understanding enough about how the game welds the vertices between joints (like the shoes, arms, legs, etc) and there's also an issue with morph targets for the models.

    The shoes aren't there because they crash the game currently (morphs or something).
    [​IMG]

    And then we have the morph targets which are being problematic even when they should be working.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    So to answer the question about Metal Sonic, we could. But that model of Metal Sonic has less pieces than the playable Metal Sonic model, so some work around would need to be made for that as well.
     
  8. Turbohog

    Turbohog

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    Did he release that mod? I'm not seeing a link, but maybe I'm missing something.
     
  9. Atendega

    Atendega

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    Nope, this is one of those deals where they show off something super cool and then never release it :specialed:
    + - Why do you hate us, Morph-senpai  
     
  10. SF94

    SF94

    Tech Member
    I wanted to make a whole hack out of it but I just haven't gotten around to it. It's a little buggy overall and includes some other things, like classic-esque monitor/enemy bouncing, water running, etc. I'll see about cleaning it up and releasing it sometime soon.
     
  11. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    One thing I've wondered whether it is possible to fix is the cutscene transitions. As shown in parts of the final Dreamcast version it seems like the a lot of the cutscenes were meant to stream perfectly into gameplay, however some jerk or flicker the camera off the position when trying to do so, while I don't think any of the transitions work properly in the DX versions.

    It was one pretty neat effect considering how laughable the cutscenes were otherwise.
     
  12. Atendega

    Atendega

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    Yeah, I remember that monitor/enemy bouncing video you put out. It would be cool to see a general gameplay additions/niceties sort of mod like that.
    But ultimately blurry legs are more important :P
     
  13. MainMemory

    MainMemory

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    That would require patching the game every time the character changes, which is probably possible, but requires a bit more work than the current mod.
     
  14. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    Okay, this is probably over intricate, but how far has modding advanced in terms of adding menus?

    I was wondering if maybe the Twinkle Circuit entrance could be revamped to work the same way as the Dreamcast's Chao Race menu:

    [​IMG]

    Obviously it's far more basic on paper than in execution, but adding a little menu when you enter the doorway and then allowing you to select all six of the circuits. I'm actually surprised the DX version didn't do this, considering it went out of it's way to make nearly all of SA2's DLC unlockables accessible.
     
  15. MainMemory

    MainMemory

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    With our (read: Morph's) current level of knowledge, it's definitely possible to make a menu, it's just a matter of determining exactly how to design and program it.
     
  16. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    I have heard that making actual new data is the current roadblock for modding the game fully (eg. adding new levels instead of writing over current ones or updating the Trial menus).

    Should it ever be solved I suppose it could be one step towards making a "real" Director's Cut.
     
  17. MainMemory

    MainMemory

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    It is possible to expand any arrays that we could need to add data to, it's just a bit of an involved process (which the mod loader could be made to handle automatically if need be). There are also unused level slots that mods could use if they really wanted to. The real roadblock is that we don't know enough about how levels work, programming-wise, to create a new level from scratch. There's more to levels than just LandTable+SET, there's the CAM file, level events, fog, lighting, act transitions, skybox, water, fish, emerald shards, racing AI, etc. We may know enough to be able to make a very basic level, but it's still a very involved process to make all those things entirely from scratch.
     
  18. Turbohog

    Turbohog

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    Well, in the case of making all of the twinkle circuit courses available, that shouldn't be a problem right? We should already have the landtable+se, cam file, etc. Or is there something else missing for the courses that would have to be made from scratch?
     
  19. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    The Twinkle Circuits themselves are fine (though I think some of the characters are a bit glitchy in some of them, eg. their physics making them fall through the track). It's the accessibility and editing the menus and game so we can play them. This is the reason nearly all the level mods have an existing level replaced in Trial Mode and the like, since adding a new option is more complicated than say, for the Genesis games.

    On another self promoting note, I tried some more HD backgrounds. Here's one of Speed Highway, not great but managed to splice together some detailed elements (didn't realise till now how much of it was cheaply spliced together from the background Sonic's superimposed on during the intro of his story). Obviously the pixel and blur detail is a bit inconsistent:
    [​IMG]

    Oh and made another Emerald Coast HD background that edits the islands to fit the model mist again:
    [​IMG]
     
  20. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    Sorry to double post fellas, but I found this lovely gameplay vid:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWmYHwtFEMg

    Any idea what this guy is using to make the game look extra defined like that?