Only way this could disappoint is if we were told the update was being done ENTIRELY by Sonic Team. I am satisfied with the simple fact of the game getting updated. Mania itself was the most satisfying thing to happen to Sonic games in "insert where you think things went to shit" and getting more of it (even if it's just level transitions) is a happy happy thing to happen. In the meantime, Xenoblade 2 is FUCKING AWESOME and will keep me busy until (and a great deal after) the update/DLC/whatever it is.
Well yeah it could be nothing so it's important to keep hype levels in check until we hear otherwise, but it does look like the game is getting a content update of some kind, even if we don't know how effectual or substantive it may be just yet. I'd be very surprised if this is just a void of nothingness as the additional branch on Steam indicates that something is in the works, however in the dark we may be at the moment. Hope we hear something concrete before the year is out. It'd be a lovely Christmas present to find out the game's getting a major content update that's coming soon.
And I do hope Tax and Stealth are on board with this. My hype would go to zero if that isn't the case. After seeing what they've done with the remasters adding the Sega Forever shit... I'll check regularly about updates on that branch in the history page of SteamDB. Will post if there's some activity after all this buzz.
Better question is why they didn't sell a bundle with both before Forces released? That's just smart business.
As we've established, creating game bundles does not require creating a new development branch for the game, so if that's all this was, they would have just made a bundle on the store.
Ah, please do mate. I've appreciated all your insight contributed to the thread thus far. Your posts are the best in the thread, in terms of keeping everyone updated. And seconded on Taxman and Stealth being involved. I'd only get hyped about this if it's definitely going to be their efforts and work, given that's why the game's so fantastic in the first place. Perhaps their recent silence and quietness on Twitter and the like is because they've been contracted to do this and it's something they absolutely can't talk about just yet. One can hope at least.
The only thought I have about their silence since release has to be their much needed "break"/vacation, which I seem to remember Taxman mentioning in an interview. Shipping a game on a deadline isn't easy, so I wouldn't blame them if they wanted a break from well- literally everything for a while. And there is Taxman's personal project he keeps teasing, so he could be busy with that as well. My one faint, futile hope is that they're testing the removal of Denuvo in whatever this new branch is; likely setting myself up for disappointment on that one. (Yes, I'm still kinda mad about that. :v: )
According to a post on ResetEra they specifically said they had "no Sonic Mania announcements" during their recent stream, which led a member to say "The dream is dead" though I swiftly corrected him, given this development branch was added three days ago and "no announcements at this time" isn't indicative of anything, let alone future plans that might be weeks, if not months off. Anyone catch the stream? What was the specific wording? It does indicate they might be aware of the development branch being leaked/discovered, as they felt the need to somewhat address it. Taxman does indeed deserve the much-needed break, though it has been quite a few months since Mania's release and even longer since he would have stopped development on it. I read that interview too, I believe it was in Rolling Stone via Glixel and the key point he mentioned was that he'd like to start on an original project after Mania, but that could change pending "upcoming discussions" with Sega. I wouldn't be surprised if a month after Mania was out, Sega saw the insane sales and those pending discussions amounted to "work on a new updated Sonic Mania we can re-release to sell another million copies" though this is of course pure speculation on my part. It would make sense that Sega would want to support/update a game that has sold millions of copies. Hopefully we'll hear something soon, whether from Taxman or Stealth if they're at liberty or Sega themselves. News in January seems probable.
Thanks for the kind words I am currently investigating the SteamKit2 library so I can automatize a little the "check updates regularly" part :v: . Finals are over for me, so I got plenty of time to hype and learn something new. Sonic Mania definitely deserves more love. I hope this leads somewhere! EDIT: Seems like something like this happened some time ago with a Civilization V Expansion Pack.
My #1 wish would be not extra levels, but extra layouts - Stardust Speedway 2 and Mirage Saloon 2 are just far, far, far too short. Crying out to be extended so they're not over in the blink of an eye (especially because Mirage Saloon is a new zone, and a great zone, it basically is all over in less time than it takes to complete one act of Flying Battery).
I'm expecting literally nothing to come out. But if there is any update or bonus edition, it better have the missing level transitions.
Yeah, I'm not getting hyped over a development branch on steam. I'll just be disappointed when it's inevitably revealed that it was just some developers fucking around. If it's an update with new content, great. But I'm really not expecting anything.
It depends on wether or not there will be lock on content, just like Sonic 4 EP2. Considering Forces was also released incomplete, I don't think it's impossible. Not that I'm rooting for anything on the matter. Just imagine playing with infinite on Mania levels after he disappeared on modern Sonic's dimension lolololol
I think level transitions would be nice, but what I would like to see more than those are more gameplay options. The ability to Super Peel-Out, Spin Dash, and Insta-Shield/Drop Dash at the same time, or two of those at a time, or just one if that's what you want (I would think the Insta-Shield and the Drop Dash are the only two that would conflict with each other, since both require a button press mid-air). The ability to do these things in a save game file. Once you finish a file you can already go back to any zone you want, so what's the point of locking it all to the no save mode? Maybe some new Special Stages locked behind the level select. I would just like to see more gameplay-related things to give the game more replayability and hidden stuff to find in it. I think that the game is the game, and while level transitions would put a lot of us at peace, the story is already kind of hazy to begin with. It's hard to tell that the Hard-Boiled Heavies are actually against Eggman, and they really don't illustrate the intentions of them... at all. Maybe level transitions would help to clarify some of this, but I'm not sure how much can be clarified. EDIT: I realize I could be very wrong about level transitions not clearing up the story, but it's just food for thought.
The People's Mania's Choice has spoken, and they've chosen you two, Tee Lopes and Falk! Sonic Mania won IGN's Best of 2017 People's Choice Awards for Best Original Music! Congratulations!
