Spoiler-free Sonic Mania discussion thread

Nope.

Steam isn't the only form of DRM that exists these days.
If there's more on top of it, like Denuvo as a last sudden decision as reason for the delay, for example.
It's not on Valve.

 

Well it's good that it's not DRM then.

 

Quality control is not something you should be doing 5 days before release, though! If they only realized something was seriously wrong now, that's amateurish, but if they noticed the problem a while ago and were trying to cover it up while still hyping the fans, that was a pretty dickish thing to do.

Yeah, I'm pissed. I have no way to to play this game on platforms other than the PC (not that I'd feel particularly good by "rewarding" Sega with another purchase after such a screw up), and with the game out on every other platform, there go my chances of being surprised by anything in this game.

There's not much we can do now, except maybe demand more transparency ("optimizations", seriously?) or maybe a better consolation gift than freaking emulated Sonic 1, because there's no way we're getting the game itself at the same time as the other platforms, unfortunately.

Sega will get a bad reputation from this either way now, and we casual gamers who don't own a console will remember the bitter launch of Sonic Mania, this game that was supposed to be a great experience all the way through. It's a shame really that something like this would happen specifically to this game, because a lot of people who weren't even following the franchise anymore had great hopes for it, and this last minute delay is kinda shitting on the experience.

I'm not gonna hold back because the developers are part of the community, they've been working on this professionally and Sega is a business providing a product, so we should treat them as we would any other company who screwed up (as respectfully as we can considering how pissed we are), because they did. Someone dropped the ball, and emulated Sonic 1 is a piss poor peace offering if you ask me, it's borderline offensive.

 

I thought the main/lead platform was PC, but guess not. Apparantly PS4/Xbox One is the main/lead platform. Maybe Taxman can shed some light on this?

It's bad news that the Steam version is delayed.
Fortunately, I pre-ordered the PS4 and Steam version.

 

Well, shit - I'm stuck with PC as my only option, so guess I'm waiting another two weeks. It sucks, but they must have found something pretty major to delay it this close to release - presuming it's something gone wrong with integrating the Steam DRM based on a recent Taxman tweet, though I could be reading too much into that. Guess I'll have to hide out in a spoiler bunker for a fortnight after the other versions launch - not to mention juggle around the day or two's holiday I booked in for a Mania marathon...!

So, longer wait - boo. On the other hand - at least now I know my USB Mega Drive controller adaptor will arrive before launch...! = P Focusing on the positives, haha.

 

This is not the first time that review codes for a highly anticipated game have gone out and the game wound up not working for several reviewers but worked fine for others. It's not amateurish, the PC environment is massive and there are an exhaustive number of configurations to test for. Things like this are why PC versions of games are so scary to developers.

 

That is bullshit. These kids thrive off any kind of negative attention, because no one probably listens to them normally and it's the only attention they get in their boring lives. Fuck em

I'm bummed about the delay, but have cooled off a bit. Staying away from spoilers will be tough, but possible.

PC crew we can do this

 

I was fortunate enough to have a friend willing to let me borrow his XB1 for at least the first week after release. Not the way I was looking to give another copy to a friend, but whatever.

Those desperate to play on time could try rented electronics. My Rent-A-Center was charging $20/week for XB1s. $60 for two weeks and the game is not too awful for those who have no other option and can't wait.

 

Did Taxman or Sega clarifed that statement on twitter? I would really like to know, it's one less thing I'm worried about the preorder i made.
The time of that tweet of someone under NDA was too close to the delay to confort.

 

I think us PC only users have every right to be pissed. For some of us, there's literally no other way of us playing the game on August 15 now. Just had a think about other options and my only saving grace is if that cash injection I mentioned (it's supposed to be thousands) that would easily allow me to get a second-hand console to play this happens sometime next week. But that's if the money arrives next week and it might not come until the week after. Best case scenario is I'm playing this late next week around Friday so there's still a delay even if something miraculous happens for me.

This harms us and it greatly harms the game. There's almost 20K pre-orders for the Steam version and you can bet the vast majority of those are people who are PC only (else they would have just pre-ordered the game on their console of choice). I'm still hyped and excited for the game but this does kind of feel like the worst news ever at the worst possible time in the universe. Honestly don't know how I'm going to play this next week. As I said either the money miracle comes in and I'll get a console (to be fair, I was seriously considering getting one anyway so it wouldn't just be for Mania) or I'm fucked until August 29 basically.

As a silver lining it is cathartic to see other members here in the same boat as I am. Doesn't change how much this fucking sucks though.

 

There are drm free games on steam.

 

figured no one would read this lol.

 

Yep. Usually against leaks like that, but not this time. If it leaks, I'll be downloading it. It's not like SEGA will lose money from me doing it, me having already preordered the game.

 

Holy crap, I have to avoid spoilers for 2 more weeks? Now I wish had a console.

 

I did the first time, thanks.
Also, DRM and Malware while very similar, they are usually different things.

 

PC seldom is the lead platform when the walled gardens of consoles exist. If there's any lead platform at all, it'd be either the Switch or PS4.

 

If they noticed the problem a while ago, the game probably wouldn't be delayed. :v: Aaron did say in the stream that he "recently finished discussing it in meetings" or something to that effect. In any case, of course this isn't great news. He sounded so sad when he came on the stream. But if it needed to happen, it is what it is I guess.

Btw if anyone wants to check the stream archive, be mindful of the chat replay if you're viewing on Twitch, and the fact that there's a preview of Studiopolis 2 towards the end of it.

 

If this is because of DRM, I hope this serves as an example of how bad DRM can be. A botched launch has the potential to do more damage to a game's sales than piracy... I mean, piracy will happen eventually, nothing's uncrackable.

 

Not got an alternative means of playing this, is PC only for me. But some people in here really need to step back and look at things from a distance. Yes it's bad timing in the extreme to delay 4 days before release, but if it means a better product as a result then great. Also consider the fact people there are dealing with leaks, having to release content early to beat that tide, so IMO wanting to avoid a worse situation with a potential problem with the PC version is the sensible option.

 

Damn, I'm pissed for you PC players! This could have happened with any version of the game and I feel like console players dodged a serious bullet today.

How the fudge is anyone supposed to stay away from spoilers for so long!? The internet ain't gonna let that happen..

Still, best of luck all you PC people. And here I was almost going to double-dip on Steam when I was worried my PS4 CE wouldn't arrive in time...