don't click here

Sonic Frontiers Thread - PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by MykonosFan, May 27, 2021.

  1. Wildcat

    Wildcat

    Member
    325
    95
    28
    Ya when I first played 3D Mario I thought it was too different because I was used to linear Mario levels but a series can do different things as long as it’s fun to play.

    Saying the 2D gameplay (but turned 3D) is the only way Sonic should play is just not fair. That kind of mindset is not fair for any series. I’m sure Rangers or whatever it ends up being called will have enough new and traditional Sonic gameplay.
     
  2. Beamer the Meep

    Beamer the Meep

    Better than Sonic Genesis... Member
    551
    240
    43
    I actually had this discussion with someone today about the "spirit" of Sonic, but in a gameplay sense. He was arguing that the boost games were less platformers and more racing or runner games. The idea that Sonic would move into an "open-world" format made him concerned that the franchise might be diluted further. While there's a point to some extent in what he's saying, Sonic is not simply a side-scrolling platformer with loops, slopes, and momentum, Adventure and Generations both have proved that it can be other things.

    I personally believe that Open-World with some semblance of boost stages that are akin to the shrine challenges in BotW have merit. They're not totally throwing out the style because let's be honest here, it can work if you have competent level designers (Unlike Forces). Taking that and adding an open-world element to it sounds promising on paper, but we have yet to see about execution. Expanding upon what works competently is really what this series needs right now imo.
     
  3. Starduster

    Starduster

    Can bench press at least two Sonic the Hedgehogs Member
    1,985
    1,203
    93
    Britain
    Fighting my procrastination addiction
    Thing is, the leak also said these Generations styled levels take place in cyberspace, which I think holds the key to solving the resource problem. If they’re hemmed off into their own areas taking place in a digital dimension, the developers have a contextually appropriate excuse to make (for example) a bunch of vaporwave and geometric assets that all of these stages use, perhaps just changing the colour palette for each stage. That way you’d be able to have these boost levels without it feel like they’ve skimped out on the graphics, because you don’t think about fleshed out and lifelike locales when you think of cyberspace, so you?
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
    • List
  4. Linkabel

    Linkabel

    Member
    Yeah, I was thinking those "cyberspaces" levels are going to look like Special Stages.

    So something like Sonic 1/2 or the ones in Sonic Mania.
     
  5. TheKazeblade

    TheKazeblade

    "Our Life is More than a Side-Effect" Member
    I kind of hope that the cyberspace areas aren't just digital-looking assets floating in space, although if they are meant to look cyberspace-y I'm guessing they probably do. Ideally though, I would love if the idea of the cyberworld is just an excuse to have a different looking terrain from the naturalistic style that we are assuming the open world will have and are more "simulations" of different places rather than just the bland-looking digital style. But considering Breath of the Wild also lacked in this department with the designs of the Shrines and Divine Beasts, I feel that's hoping for too much for Sonic Team to deliver on.
     
  6. Starduster

    Starduster

    Can bench press at least two Sonic the Hedgehogs Member
    1,985
    1,203
    93
    Britain
    Fighting my procrastination addiction
    I think you can still do cyberspace in an impressive manner without having to spend too many resources on level specific assets.

    I think good examples would be Smash Ultimate’s credits sequence, Thumper and Tetris effect as examples of some visuals that don’t need to be tied down to specific locales, but give a distinct visual impression nonetheless. And it’d be a good way to incorporate series iconography in a trippy way. Geometric GHZ palm trees, one of the backgrounds could be an endless amount of Death Egg’s falling through the sky, one of them could be like this, but with Big the Cat’s face because why the hell not:
    upload_2021-5-29_10-2-57.jpeg
    My point is this presents a great opportunity to go wild with these levels and stuff the details into the backgrounds while keeping things light on bespoke assets.
     
  7. Snub-n0zeMunkey

    Snub-n0zeMunkey

    yo what up Member
    637
    671
    93
    as long as they aren't as visually migraine inducing as the cyberspace levels from Shadow the Hedgehog, I'll be fine :P

    [​IMG]
    I think most of us saw this part of the trailer and assumed this must be the return of boost gameplay again, but what if this is actually Sonic being teleported into cyberspace in some Sonic CD-esque way? Probably unlikely because the next shot implies he never left the field, but just a guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Alternatively, what if this is isn't boost, but is more similar to the Mach state from Advance 2?
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2021
  8. Laura

    Laura

    Brightened Eyes Member
    I'll admit that this is promising. I really doubt they can make the game automated while being truly open world. So if it's not automated and is free form because of the open world, then that's good!
     
  9. ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    ...Do you remember Sonic "title not revealed for nine months after the cryptic teaser" Forces?
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
    • List
  10. Snub-n0zeMunkey

    Snub-n0zeMunkey

    yo what up Member
    637
    671
    93
    I really wonder how long we'll have to wait for more info this time. At least with this game we have E3 in-between and Sonic's birthday could also be a potential infodump day. It'd be really annoying for them to drop a teaser and then back to radio-silence for almost another year.

    Also... why haven't the official Sonic socials even acknowledged 2022? No twitter post, no trailer upload on their YouTube channel
     
  11. BadBehavior

    BadBehavior

    Member
    321
    83
    28
    What if: the realistic graphics are the cyberspace levels and the real world open world hub is the same monotexture geometric and blocky stuff from Lost World/Forces?

    I will cry if that's the case.
     
  12. foXcollr

    foXcollr

    Resident Dolphin Member
    738
    634
    93
    US
    Yeah I'm kinda curious what this forest environment will actually look like (whether or not the leak is true, there is surely some kind of forest locale in the game since the entire trailer is centered around it). Moreover, I'm curious to see what this game will be like in terms of art and visuals.

    When I think of Sonic Team nowadays, I normally think of visually mediocre games like Forces and Lost World that lean toward mediocre or maybe slightly above mediocre. But let's not forget that SEGA is more than capable of producing fairly visually stunning games like Unleashed. Other than my general assumption that Marza will be handling a few CGI cutscenes, our only knowledge of this game's production is that it is being produced by the Generations and Forces "team". And those 2 games had different directors and completely different design teams, which only adds to my uncertainty that this game may not look anything more than run-of-the-mill. Hopefully the art direction is something new and refreshing; I think that alone would draw new people to the franchise, as long as they don't get too lazy with recycling assets and actually make the world interesting to explore.
     
  13. Starduster

    Starduster

    Can bench press at least two Sonic the Hedgehogs Member
    1,985
    1,203
    93
    Britain
    Fighting my procrastination addiction
    The trailer visuals ought to be indicative of the overall feel and look of the game and would match up with the leaks we’ve seen so far, but you never know with this series, do you?
     
  14. Now I don't want to get too excited over the details of the alleged leak, but I am all in for Sonic to return to a relatively open world akin to Adventure. In the lead up to Mania's release I even started a project producing maps for all the Genesis/32x games with the goal of using them in either an SRPG or a seamless platformer. No stage select, instead you'd have to travel along the route to get to your desired destination and potentially pick up some quests along the way. One of my main objectives was to not have it be so linear, so like from Angel island you could descend into Hydrocity, head west into a vast desert that eventually transitions to Mushroom Valley, or go north into Marble Garden.

    I'm hoping we get some more info soon enough, whether during E3 or TGS, as a mere confimation of them returning to an Adventure style hub world is what I'm really itiching to get. It certainlly would make sense considering the news forever ago about Sonic Team re-recruiting map planners from the Dreamcast era. Getting some gameplay tidbits would be nice too of course, but having Sonic finally populate a world of seamless transitions from locale to locale is like my ultimate desire. It just fits.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2021
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Like Like x 1
    • List
  15. Snub-n0zeMunkey

    Snub-n0zeMunkey

    yo what up Member
    637
    671
    93
    I wonder if maybe at an early point in development, Sonic 2022 actually started life as an Adventure Remake but the team had so many new ideas that they just decided to turn it into a whole new game?

    Just the whole concept of an open world that contains focused levels within seems like a natural evolution of the Adventure Field
     
  16. Gestalt

    Gestalt

    Sphinx in Chains Member
    I wouldn't rule that out, but if that's the case they did a good job covering up their tracks. I mean, there must have been some kind of brainstorming session at some point, naturally.
     
  17. Overlord

    Overlord

    Now playable in Smash Bros Ultimate Moderator
    19,218
    965
    93
    Long-term happiness
    I disagree - the fact he specifically draws a line between the two implies they're different, which would include control.
     
  18. Antheraea

    Antheraea

    Bug Hunter Member
    it was a revelation to me to have someone here liken the original game to Outrun, as Sega was mainly known for their arcade titles around that time, and I think that's the "true" spirit of Sonic myself.
     
  19. Hamzawesome

    Hamzawesome

    Member
    132
    61
    28
    Please show gameplay next time you reveal a new game. If the gameplay is not ready, reveal the game when it is ready, like Mario Odyssey did.

    Sonic is not in a position where the series can just show a cryptic trailer as a surprise final reveal, and expect the fans to be excited. We know less about this game than we did for Forces' initial reveal, and that's just mindboggling. We already knew the next Sonic game has been in development since early 2019, so this trailer is quite literally useless to me. They never learn from their mistakes.

    Please do better next time, SEGA.

    As for the leaks, it sounds pretty bad. Sonic Team can't handle open world, and I'm not interested in giving them a chance to improve their open world concept or mechanics for the game that's coming after Sonic 2022, because I have absolutely no hope that Sonic 2022 will be any good. Breath of the Wild was good in its first go, it didn't need sequels to improve the formula, so what's SEGA's excuse?
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2021
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
    • List
  20. SuperSnoopy

    SuperSnoopy

    I like Sonic Advance Member
    1,778
    740
    93
    Lyon, France
    Slice of life visual novel, coming soon...?
    We literally know nothing about the game beside some 4chan leaks (a community that's notoriously negative about...everything really)
    It's a bit early to tell Sega to do better next time, no?
     
    • Agree Agree x 10
    • Like Like x 1
    • List