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General Project Thread & Feedback

Discussion in 'Sonic 2 HD (Archive)' started by steveswede, Apr 29, 2010.

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  1. Lapper

    Lapper

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    That wasn't my point...

    What I meant was... Yeah, alright. I know what you mean, I just noticed that the same thing was said a few times, and didn't see it from other people's point of view.
    Carry on.
     
  2. GeneHF

    GeneHF

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    Yeah, yeah, a ton of shit has been said, so no :words: from me.

    -Sonic 4 Marketing. Neat. I'll echo SOTI's statement about all or most of Act 1.
    -No need to discuss the backstage politics since you guys (hopefully) have nailed that out with the Admins. Emphasis on hopefully.
    —Deadlines. Yeah. News business saying: Don't meet deadlines? You're dead.
    -No comment on design aspects, I'll leave that to people who are more anal about that sort of shit.

    Otherwise, I'd like to see more. Hope you all can get your act together better.
     
  3. Tweaker

    Tweaker

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    Why are you talking about your own post? o_O

    Because there are no legitimate reasons to be upset by what's happened here. Not at all! I'm sure glad you cleared that up for me.

    Why do people keep saying this and never explain it other than saying "but you're an admin!!" repeatedly? It's pretty irritating that people think you shouldn't speak your mind just because you have an admin tag under your name. Fight the power!

    Which you accomplished spectacularly by insulting and generalizing every single person who ever claimed to be a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog in one fell swoop, including yourself. Stellar job! You should meet me at the after-party; we'll shoot the shit and eat some hot wings.

    *snickers*
     
  4. Hello everyone! I've been dying to post here!

    What do I think about this project?
    Well, obviously it has been 3 years since Sonic 2 HD was announced, and I expecting something big out of it. When the trailer was announced, I was so happy – I woke up early so I could see the alpha release, but I just saw some footage. I'm sleepy as I type.

    I think that while it's nice that you, project administrators, want high standards, it's clear they are set way too high. Discussing how things should look pixel-perfect, taking 5 months to think of how a tree should look – that does not lead anywhere. I know, because I suffer from the very same evil (in a different way, though). I do oil painting, and I want a painting so perfect I'm taking 4 years to finish it, when I could just take a month or two and move on. So, please, don't make the same mistake I'm doing. Move on with the project! It doesn't matter if the trees are not perfect, or if the grass is not as pretty as it should – it's an alpha! You can release the game and see what looks good or not, and re-release it later (maybe also creating patches) to fix what you don't like. More important than that, this is not a commercial project – you are allowed to make mistakes, to take a chance!

    About the nature of the project changing, well... I think it had to be done at some point. I have some experience with open projects (Linux, in particular), and they just don't move on. There's always an eternal discussion about things should be done. I saw that since this is a fan community, feedback should be heard, but not always accepted – because decisions need to be made. Changing the project nature from open to semi-open or closed... well, it's a bitter measure to get things done. Just make sure to credit people that contributed to the project previously in a way – at least saying giving credit to them in-game.

    That being said, I also agree that the project leaders didn't communicate well with Sonic Retro owners. They're your support, so they need to know what's going on. And as Tweaker and a few other members pointed out, they can help concretely. If your coder can't take the job alone, then let an extra coder work together with him – this will make your dream – our dream – come alive.

    Now, moving on:

    I've seen this a similar discussion about this at Sonic 4 (as "plastic grass" thing). I say that this is a different type of project than Sonic 4 is. So even if the grass is odd, let them make mistakes for now! Let's see the alpha release and things coming to life! It's an alpha build after all, so we can think of that as a "sketch". Things can be improved later on, and I bet they will.
     
  5. NHY

    NHY

    Member
    I being following this project on and off even before I joined the forums and I was very much aware of the countdown since before Christmas. I didn't let it take over my time and when I woke up this morning, I remembered about this and thought I'd take a look.

    I have to agree with what Tweaker and many others have being saying, this is nothing short of a cop out, an epic troll and a serious mistake on part of the S2HD staff. Although to be perfectly honest, I'm not really that surprised this happened but I'm still not terribly impressed by what has gone down.

    Was there was really ANYTHING preventing you from updating the site and saying ' Sorry but due to circumstances beyond our control, the countdown is no longer valid but here, enjoy this short trailer and screenshots instead. ' Instead, you chose to lead people on, with most of us expecting a very big reveal and you and pull THIS? Way to pretty much damage the reputation of yourselves, the project and that of Sonic Retro.

    A lot of us are rightly angry right now because it feels like we've being treated like fools, be it someone who contributed art that got scrapped to others who were expecting more than a Sonic 4 style teaser. I understand you are doing this for free and have lives to live but really, if this is the best you can do then you either need to abandon the concept of deadlines and/ or hire someone who actually knows how to handle PR properly!

    Also, test-object, shut the fuck up. We have a right to be angry over this and from what I've read, no one has being acting childish over this either, we do not need someone who thinks they are so much more mature than us standing on their high horse, lecturing people on how to react. You might think that an admin was insulting you as a user but you were insulting most of the members of this site with your rant in the first place. I admit, people over-reacted a bit when talking about Sonic 4 but that was an official game, this is just a fan project, big difference.
     
  6. test-object

    test-object

    By Torm, no! This is terrible! I... I had no idea Member
    Class act.

    No, there isn't. Did you lose money because of it? Did the staff kill your dog? It's taken them a while to eventually not meet a deadline and I can imagine it being annoying, but there's no need to go on a tirade. This is now their fan project. Let them loose, they're supposed to be feeling good about their selves and their game. Not once have I seen you criticise something about the video or screens themselves. You were just yelling at them for not delivering in time and having crappy PR.

    You just acted like a 7-year old saying that I was talking about my own post. My niece does that shit. You're a grown, intelligent man.

    And let's not forget I am along with MaximusDM top contributors to this project next to the staff.
     
  7. GeneHF

    GeneHF

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    Actually, good question raised up by a commenter on the front page:

    I do remember seeing from HPZ materials tossed around but, given the nature of this project...

    Response?
     
  8. test-object

    test-object

    By Torm, no! This is terrible! I... I had no idea Member
    It'll be Sonic 2 as it is but, should the staff have time and feel like it, have some more added content, such as hidden levels and extra characters. They want to finish the core of the game first.
     
  9. I'm sorry, but there are legitimate reasons. They did a big trailer in the name of Sonic Retro and made us wait and hope – only to release a trailer and a few pictures. Plus the contributors that did send something and didn't get their work approved (even though it was necessary to move to a different project structure, they aren't wrong into being upset either).

    What it means, however, is that the project leaders themselves must let go of a few things and release an alpha. Again, it doesn't matter if a coconut isn't perfect, or if the grass isn't good – we just want to see how things are doing! This is why they should take risks and show their work, even if it's not perfect.
     
  10. kezzzs

    kezzzs

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    I knew it!

    Very much looking forward to the real release of the alpha. Hopefully it shouldn't be too long now, though be sure just to release it and not hype everyone up so much :)

    The video looks great! It's a shame that you don't feel as though you could release these videos every couple of weeks to keep everyone on the same page on how progress is going. If you want to get people excited then it takes time and content. You can't get people excited by withholding information and content. It just pisses people off in the long run.

    I think the core issue here is that you don't want to have to prove yourselves to the community. You're going to release the game in your own time and on your terms. This is absolutely fine if this was a private project but it isn't and never can be. The community has given so much to this as well as the admins of the site. The community have given you page after page of ideas and feedback over the course of 2 years and all they ask for is a little openness. Sure, some people can be whiny arseholes but at the end of the day, for every twat there are ten people wanting to help and offer feedback and encouragement. The admins have given you free run of the forums, front-page and a subdomain! The very least you can do is trust them enough to keep them in the loop. What the hell are you thinking?

    To be utterly honest, I don't think you ever intended to release the alpha today. I personally think that it suspiciously sounds like a damage control excuse. If you did intend to release the alpha and it was delayed then why didn't you scrap the counter and just apologise? The level of naivety required for it to not occur that people would be pissed off is staggering.

    Anyway, I'm sorry my post started off positive and quickly went downhill - I didn't intend it to but looking up I do genuinely believe what I have written is fair. Good luck releasing the Alpha - try keeping us in the loop, ok?

    Cheers,
    Kez
     
  11. Lapper

    Lapper

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    There was another trailer? I missed that.

    I agree that there was a legitimate reason.

    Anyway, they can't be far off the Alpha now, why not just release it sooner, with one or two features less than planned? It'll probably sooth the wounds.
     
  12. Tweaker

    Tweaker

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    I am so sorry that this is not a tragedy that resulted in death. Please forgive me, father, for I have sinned!

    No, you immense tool. You just proved concretely you didn't even read my fucking post properly; if you had, you'd know that there was a serious and legitimate issue behind the way the team conducted its business on the whole ever since they started being ridiculously secretive with their development, especially towards the people who host their fucking project.

    Speaking of not reading, do you remember what this forum is? "Community Projects"? This isn't "their" project—it's a Sonic Retro Community Project. As in, the community as a whole, not just six people. The fact that they've somehow had the influence to make this open-ended project completely closed should be concern enough for most people on this forum, but them closing it off so much from the staff graciously offering them resources is unacceptable. You'd realize that if you had even the slightest ounce of perspective, but I suppose that's too much for you.

    My opinion on the project's progress itself—something I've chosen to withhold until I can formulate a proper impression—is completely irrelevant to all of my arguments thus far.

    Oh man, I feel so berated! It sure as hell made more sense that you were talking about your own post than mine, though, cause everything I had said was completely relevant to the issue at hand. I guess your head is shoved too far up your own ass for you to realize that, though. I'd pity you if you weren't a complete and utter cock.

    Okay...? What, do you want a fucking medal or something? You contributing to a project does not give you some superior ability to measure the legitimacy in peoples' concerns. It doesn't even seem to give you the ability to interpret speech correctly. All you're doing is being a complete ass and refusing to acknowledge it.

    Just stop. If you'd acknowledge this and apologize we'd be done here, but I'm more inclined to think you're one of those types who will tilt their nose up and angrily leave the community while proceeding to complain about how terrible the community is on other forums or something. I would be extremely pleased to be proven wrong on this point, though, so please do! It'll be a pleasant deviation from the norm.
     
  13. 360

    360

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    Alright I literally woke up about twenty minutes ago so I'll write something short here and then come back later. This has to be the most immense disappointment I have felt since the Sonic 4 reveal. What pisses me off more is that the entire situation was artificially engineered by the Sonic 2HD staff (and therefore could have been easily avoided) who ushered in a storm of promotion for the game over the last couple of weeks to reveal around ten seconds of footage. This is a mirror image of the Sonic 4 reveal last year.

    Seriously guys you hinted on here that we would be playing EHZ in an alpha-release for the game and even laughed at the notion that only screenshots would be released with full knowledge that the latter was actually reality. It blinds me how you could have let all of this go ahead knowing you were going to disappoint an entire fanbase here. The footage in that trailer shows you have a playable build. What is holding up you posting a download link? Quality control? I think you could amend the situation pretty quickly by simply uploading what you have for us to play.

    You clearly have a playable build. Upload it. Even if privately here on the forums. That would remedy alot of people's emotions here and at least show us you care about our feedback and would perhaps involve the community again. It's kind of a punch in the face to see a wallpaper on that site with "alpha-release" there hence proving some of you have the playable build that your withholding from us on your machines. Regardless this reveal has been nothing short of epic fail and you have some serious work ahead of you if you want people to have faith in you and trust you again.

    Now for the final point. I think what doubles my disappointment here (and I feel terrible for saying this as I do not wish to devalue your work) is that the ten seconds of footage is extremely underwhelming. Some guy above me stated that the art looks like a high-resolution resizing of the original assets. That is exactly what I see. The art only looks marginally better than a filter applied in an emulator. Honestly guys I feel terrible stating this but this is the truth and I feel you need honest feedback. On a positive here the wallpapers which are obviously displayed in higher resolution look much better but the Youtube footage looks underwhelming and haven't (in my opinion) hit the standard set by the initial concept image (Death Egg HD) that was the catalyst for the entire project. Honestly if I were Project Leader I would either release the alpha build for feedback and work from there or perform a complete reboot.

    I think guys it's just that we all waited (and some worked on) for two years and what we see here is not particularly stunning or anything to become excited about. I hope my truthful words here haven't affected you too much and I do apologise if I have been a little too negative but I feel it will help you in the long-term to have honest criticisms.

    Still looking forward to the alpha. Please consider my idea for releasing what you have.
     
  14. test-object

    test-object

    By Torm, no! This is terrible! I... I had no idea Member
    No. You wonder why Destructoid and the overall internet hates Sonic fans? Because our representative can not go 2 posts without having a tantrum. I'm not going to sell shit about this forum, you're doing a great job in anti-commercial yourself. You're the ass, Tweaker.
     
  15. Tweaker, they surely might have an alpha build by now, right? Why not suggest them to release it as-is, even if it is buggy and incomplete? This way, we can see what they have done and what needs improvement. I think the first step into solving this mess is asking the team why couldn't they release the build in time – but they need to be more specific. We can see the game running, so what is going on? Is there a showstopper around? Is it crashing?
     
  16. Lapper

    Lapper

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    A-bloody-men! That'd make my day.
     
  17. Tweaker

    Tweaker

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    You're hilarious! You really care more about making baseless unsubstantiated claims than apologizing for a cheap shot you ignorantly made at an entire group of people for no reason. Go back into the feces-infested hole you crawled out from. Nobody wants to hear your rehashed, tired rhetoric.

    I'm not insinuating in any way that they should be forced to release the alpha build; if anything, I'm saying they should just say absolutely nothing about it until it's done and stop making false promises or pretentious hype campaigns that they can't live up to. It'd be dumb to release a project that is not properly polished; if we did that for Megamix or something, it'd be a total mess. I'm not a total asshole; they should take all the time that they need. They should also tell the community about it, but, well... welp!
     
  18. Aerosol

    Aerosol

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    Sonic (?): Coming summer of 2055...?
    :argh:

    Now, about this announcement of an announcement....

    I generally don't like to repeat what others have said but...seriously. You cannot tell me that the countdown didn't make EVERYONE think that an alpha was to be released. I'm pretty sure even Kotaku thought an alpha was around the corner. Why let everyone down like that?

    It's like if you start baking a cake, and you tell a kid "1 hour until I've got something to give you!". They know you're baking a cake, so they're hella excited for a cake. Then when the cake is supposed to be done, you turn around and say "The cake went flat, sorry. But you can taste the batter if you like". You know what that kid is thinking? No I DON'T want some fucking cake batter.

    Massive disappointment. I'll continue to look forward to a possible alpha release in the future, but I don't expect shit. Expectations lead to disappointments, after all, and I'm not going through this shit again.

    Side note. If the engine is having problems, then maybe lOst should open-source the goddamn engine, so programmers in the COMMUNITY can bug-fix. Yes yes I know. "It won't happen, stop asking about it,". I'm sorry Papa, I should've learned not to chat back to my fucking elders.
     
  19. I understand your point of view, but this situation is clearly different from what happened to Megamix. You said yourself it is was originally a community project, right? Megamix was a closed project. So they did disappoint people. They can take all the time they want to finish the game, that's for sure, but since we were promised so much and they didn't deliver (you mentioned that yourself), we want to at least see what's playable.
     
  20. 360

    360

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    To reiterate: release what you have now to make amends. PS. You're famous on NeoGAF. Their response is extremely positive. Possibly because they weren't hyped up for two weeks with the promise of alpha-release you failed to deliver: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418871
     
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