I'm intrigued. I was actually a bit worried that the added detail on the rocks in Act 1 meant that GHZ did have those rectangular rock formations at all. Good to see it's still there.
A teaser for Act 2 from the looks of it. Loving the new details they added, like the giant totem poles and that gorgeous background. Is that the only new screenshot in that magazine?
The overlapping hands on Sonic shouldn't bug me. I mean , I know it'll get fixed but still having a slight HNNNNGH moment. Not to add negativity but the picture just looks a bit too cluttered or busy. Perhaps it's the background or the section in the top right but something irks me and I can't place it. I'll save a proper opinion for when I see the level in motion though.
That scan looks really really nice. The saturation is perfect and I'm loving the background art with it's cuboid-ish rocks.
Oh wow, a level that takes place in the gorges of Green Hill? That's keeping it simple but fresh, and the new background and totems simply gorgeous.
I don't know about anyone else but the size of the totem poles really makes me wish they behave like the metal scales from Bridge Zone. It would be another amazing nod to the 8bit games.
I assume that's the new background for the underground GH section? Some weird consistencies that have been pointed out aside (maybe this is a mockup and not an actual screenshot?), it looks great. It's like those 16-bit recreations of the 8-bit Sonic games' levels, but we're actually getting it in a game. Also, HedgehogBR from SSMB has high-res scans of PSOM UK's preview of the game. Unsure if posts of the scans are allowed here, so I'll just link. If scans are allowed I'll edit to post (if somebody doesn't post the scans here first).
Wait, did the magazine just describe Studiopolis Zones boss? Also, it sounds like the flame shield ignites the spike log bridges in Green Hill Zone. Maybe this means the element shields will have more interactions with the level environments now?
Magazine screencaps. It's like getting beta proto screen shots all over again. Only for a new classic game.
Man am I yearning for the non-Sonic 1 levels. S1's ultra-heavily patterned foregrounds just don't lend themselves to more organic level designs and environments at all without massive overhaul. Act 2 is looking a bit slap-dash. Hopefully it sees some refinement! But then again it's literally one screenshot, so it may not be truly representative either.
I know this is only one screenshot, and that it is unfinished, etc. but, there's so many small things in that screenshot that look wrong to me, and it looks to be more of the same issues that I have mentioned before. Tiles that exist to connect art together and make it more streamlined aren't used correctly here. There's a wall without shadowing next to the spring and 2 ring monitors in the top right (also a bad idea layout-wise, as you can effectively break the leftmost monitor and get stuck bouncing against the spring constantly, like in Hydrocity Zone Act 1), the left most wall with diagonal parts that connect to the under-hanging ceiling isn't using the correct tiles either and looks incorrect. This doesn't include the other issues that others have mentioned (the cut-off tree, the missing rope section, etc.). Tails also appears to be running, even though he's in the air? I know I'm sounding like a broken record at this point (not my intention, honestly), but I really do hope this is just a mock-up akin to the the magazine screens of old, as that would account for the "jankiness"of this screenshot, for a better word. Now that I have gotten my negativity out of the way, let me address the positives. The background is looking great. I love the use of what Spring Yard Zone's (I think?) lower foliage to complement the larger mountainous rocks and the large waterfall also fits in well. The distant cave openings into the outside also provide a lot of depth for such a limited amount of colours. The large totem poles look a little strange, but they follow the level's motif and aren't too much out of place. They remind me of the Mirage Saloon's totem poles, actually. Again, I look forward to more progress and my further apologies for possibly sounding a little rude. You know the drill by now; I just want this to be as great as it can be and I'm very vocal about it.
Lol! as soon as we saw this shot in the magazine we knew people would nitpick the tile errors in it. While Zones are in development, it's best not to get too precious about it since stuff gets moved around and tuned a lot (hence why the zip line rail was going through the terrain at the time). I for one just think it's pretty neat seeing the slightly off colours of the magazine scan, it gives it a real "prototype" feel!
Ah, that explains a lot. "Lol" indeed. I didn't actually notice the off-colours at first but now that you mention it, the greens are definitely a little paler than usual. Great to hear that you're not only aware of the aforementioned issues, but that it's all still subject-to-change. Thanks for the information; much appreciated.
I have a question for you guys. Will the spiked log have more animations than it does in the original? I've always felt the lack of animations was jarring to see in motion.
It's good that you're being a good sport about those people, because the ones you really have to worry about are the ones who are quiet now but will rip your hard work to pieces hours after the game is released. I can't wait for the Zero Punctuation on Sonic Mania.
Well yeah, I mean it comes with the territory of the profession really. Devs spend so many hours working to make a game, so you can become numb to positive feedback and conversely, get cut deep by even a small criticism. But the important thing is to tally up the overall percentage - if over 80% like the game you've done well, and it's just down to learning from mistakes for next time. Edit: Before I go, I should say once again that we most certainly appreciate the support and feedback from everyone here so far. What's been shown so far really only scratches the surface of what Sonic Mania has to offer, I'm looking forward to people's reactions to some of the bosses in this game!
