I mean Sonic Jam had difficulty modes, it's not unreasonable to expect something like that when it mostly was just level skips and rearranging certain things.
Do we know that origins is outsourced - keeping very shtum on that. Colours has been tweaked - in a myriad of thousand small and tiny ways - the majority of which I don't like. From big things like the lighting engine now being just.... urggghhhh... to small annoying things like enemies that drop in from above now pellet down at 100 miles per hour rather than gently dropping in, spike releasing enemies now churning 20 out per second rather than 1 per second, to some interesting new ideas that revamp gameplay such as careful timing the homing attack giving you boost gauge etc and the no lives adjustment to bring Tails in. It's not that I would hate to see Tails Save and No lives mode in Sonic Origins - but I would 100% want them to be optional that you toggle on not defaults that you either can't change or toggle off. Difficulty modes I can get behind. Its enforced changes I'm worried about Thats probably the only change in the game I could get behind... Does anyone know what they did with the barrel in the Sonic Jam easy mode? was it removed or tinkered with at all?
Sonic Jam has three difficulty modes: Original, Normal and Easy. Normal has minor adjustments to make the games slightly easier. Easy has major adjustments to make the games a lot easier, and only one Act per Zone. The drum (as it's officially named) is removed from both Normal and Easy modes.
But both those games have major graphical changes, alterations to the physics and hitboxes, and 64DS has a couple major gameplay and level changes that differentiate it from 64 original. The only major graphical change Whitehead gave the classic games was widescreen support, and that's about as close to an "objective" improvement as you're going to get. The physics and gameplay being the same is kind of the point of the retro engine. At best, the only argument I can imagine for the Retro engine versions lacking something the classic trilogy has is that the 16:9 aspect ratio means you can see things coming easier, and possibly that on-screening certain enemies and objects earlier may change how they behave. The former is pretty subjective and the latter is pretty technical, and both would be solved with the simple addition of resolution options on the PC, which you can kind of expect. At a certain point, the desire for the most accurate version of the original game possible pushes into "just set up a CRT and a megadrive if it's that important" territory. I've played the decompilations, I've played Sonic 3 AIR, if there are ways to make these games more available I'm open to seeing what can be improved.
I'd imagine some of the more intentional tweaks in ClrsUlt involved some back and forth between BSG and SonicTeam. Some of the more bizarre ones lke the 500mph EggPawns and superfast reloading spike throwers could possibly be attributed to the port job itself, like in SADX. Hope modders take a peek at that soon. Anyway, random trivia regarding Sonic2 that's sort of relevant to the earlier 2013 conversation that's not worthy of the SToOK or a thread of its own: Chemical Plant 2 is known to have two major paths to the boss normally in all versions: + - Checkpoints (Cpx) counted from left starting at 1 Spoiler: Normal Route ramp launch (above or landing on) Cp3 infamous crushy moving block climb out of rising water moving platforms and flipping platforms Cp5 and speed-booster to the boss Spoiler: Secret Route ramp launch above and avoiding Cp3 crushy moving blocks and a speed-booster you want to ignore once you get past the enclosing ceiling, jump left into that ceiling/wall from the right of it, leading to 10Ring and Cp4 speed-booster into loop into ramp with 10Ring speed-booster into four loops, ending in rewards (two 10Rings and Invincibility) and a walkway to the boss 2013 adds an extra bonus part, presumably to take advantage of Tails Flight/Airlift being backported (though every character can get here without any flight help via slope jumping). Spoiler: Secret Route within the Secret Route (2013 Exclusive) ramp launch above and avoiding Cp3 crushy moving blocks and a speed-booster you want to ignore once you get past the enclosing ceiling, jump left into that ceiling/wall from the right of it, leading to 10Ring and Cp4 speed-booster into loop into ramp with 10Ring speed-booster into the first loop... do the fullest jump you can on that first sloped section that starts in the middle of this first loop sail cleanly over the second loop, landing on top of the third loop and walking over the fourth loop You're now in the new path! Enjoy the luxuries of: a free 1UP, Shield, and two 10Rings littered about a brand new Cp6 very close to the boss (need to either be Knuckles, or have Tails Flight enabled and at the ready as Sonic or Tails to reach, oddly) the ability to drop down and get the original Secret Route 10Rings and Invincibility rewards Spoiler: What's the place like in earlier non-2013 versions? '92 Sonic2 lets you fling yourself up and in, but only has an open and empty walkway up there, with a small enclosed dip at the end. Jumping in there leaves you stuck there with no means of escape until the timer runs out. '94 KiS2 has an invisible unclimbable wall that stretches to the ceiling, closing it off and outright preventing you from getting in there. Extremely minor thing that 99% of people will never even think to look for, let alone find, but it's just neat to me that it's there at all
I only recently became aware of the secret Chemical plant pathways thanks to Johnny’s Sonic 2 review.. holy crap.. it’s amazing how nearly 30 years later and I’m still discovering things. YES I know.. I’m sure there are level maps that pointed these paths out already but I don’t usually have the time to look up level maps for platformers XD I just gotta go fast and the game does a good job at putting a speed booster there to make sure you don’t find those secret paths typical classic Sonic level design Which is actually quite humorous because that’s how I accidentally found a Special Stage ring in Hydro City Act 2 in Mania (that first time when you first run across the water and blow past the camera)
So sonic colors ultimate has officially fully launched. Betcha we're not getting origins news for at least 6 months.
I’m predicting October or November.. they said “stay tuned for more info later in the year” on Sonic Central. Idk if you meant 6 months from the initial announcement or 6 months from now
....you're expecting them to put news out about Origins literally the day of launch of Colours? Honestly, I'm tempted to lock this thread until we actually get some news because there's been literally nothing worthy of discussion posted in here in a long time. Just padding and wild supposition.
...no? I'm expecting them to take their dear sweet time. Unless you were talking to Jordan there? Either way, I can see why this thread might get locked, but on the other hand... now that Sonic Colors Ultimate is officially out everywhere and everyone can get their maws around it, what else are we supposed to do besides start talking about the next game? We are Sonic fans after all- wild speculation is our thing
Yeah, this is the thing. I already have almost every feature I want thanks to the Decomp releases. All I need is for Sonic CD Restored, the Knuckles Mods, and the Super Sonic Mods to all finally be compatible with each other and we'll have the entire classic collection with s3&K/Mania level features.
Somehow I don't think Taxman and Stealth are involved. Iizuka was quiet about that for a reason. I know we held out hope but after seeing SEGA release the dumpster fire that is Colors Ultimate, I have simply stopped expecting smart business decisions from these fools. We're going to get a poorly cobbled together mess that fans will have to mod to get any enjoyment out of. Whatever additions they're adding, it's just going to ruin the game IMO.
With the way Sonic's PR is structured now, this and the Sonic 2022/Rangers topic getting locked due to discussion becoming off-topic/speculative deadzones is the inevitable outcome. (The Colors Ultimate thread was only rescued from this fate since that was a game Sega actually bothered to announce and release this year...although given the technical issues, maybe that game should had been kicked over to next year too.) They're way too satisfied with throwing out breadcrumbs every three-six months as a marketing strategy, to compensate with the fact they have little else going on with the game series nowadays. Fully expecting another Forces scenario where we won't know anything about this or 2022/Rangers for another six months. Hopefully they'll have more than 30 seconds of gameplay for both projects by then.
I wouldn't be against the thread being locked for the time being; every time I see the thread bumped and active, I'm led to believe we got actual news and come to check.
For the Knuckles mod, there's an add-on for CD Restored that makes almost every addition/change inside CD Restored toggleable, and it also has toggles for Knuckles and a whole bunch of other bonus stuff like the drop dash, insta shield, elemental shields, UI stuff, etc. The only thing its missing is Super Sonic, but I'm sure it'll come eventually. Its called "CheatFreak's SCD Restored Tweaks" and its downloadable on Gamebanana.
So, does anyone think Origins stands a chance against Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania? I'm honestly beginning to get concerned now lol. As a monkey ball fan, banana mania is too... perfect O.O
It depends on what you mean by stands a chance. I think in terms of pure novelty, Monkey Ball is more appealing since the games aren’t as readily available. It would take a whole lot to really surprise me with Origins and elevate it above a simple compilation of (admittedly my favorite) games. Something like a Sonic World 2.0 (this was actually a mini fantasy of mine after considering ways to package the Taxman ports for consoles so I’m glad you guys have mentioned the idea too) or like a marathon mode that transitions seamlessly between 1, 2, and 3K. As it stands, I’m more excited for Monkey Ball. I never played any of the games until the recent rerelease Banana Blitz and I loved it. If that’s considered one of the lesser games in the series, I’m super pumped to experience the earlier entries. Even the stupid little Sonic, Tails, Morgana, Hello Kitty DLC characters are pretty cool in my opinion. I also think the general public will be way more forgiving with Banana Mania than the Sonic collection thanks to Sonic’s reputation. If someone plays Monkey Ball and isn’t doing well, they’ll likely just think they’re not good at the game. With Sonic, not doing well automatically incurs the, “These games have flawed design - why can’t I just run fast without being punished,” response.
