The SP rings had a similar concept, but were a bit different because you had to get all of them every time you went to the stage, and you couldn't truly 'collect' them. Which was very annoying.
After reading that thread on the Sega forums, I have to say there are a lot of passionate people in the Sonic community who just want this game to succeed, hence why there is a lot of criticism over aspects of Episode I and II. For me, the physics still felt wrong in Episode I, and I sincerely hope they do actually code a new physics engine that makes his momentum and speed better balanced. Anything else such as how he looks or runs is minor for me. I think Yuji Naka one said that they spent ages trying to make sure Sonic moved as intended in Sonic 1, through the loops and air. I hope the development team have this mentality in mind, as its the best way to achieve the aspirations of what the fanbase deserve from Sonic 4.
Quoting this, I like how the rest of you are shitting all over Dimps, EP2 and Ken about the game obviously being shit again and proceed to ignore one of the pieces of evidence in favor of the game, it's like you just are shitting all over the place just for the sake of it
That's pretty cool, I must say. Now I'm not only able to have a Classic Eggman outfit (from Generations), I can also have a Modern Eggman outfit as well! Awesome, isn't it? And yes, I'm being sincere here.
[LINK] XD I understand that Ken's job of having to deal with the Sonic fanbase while defending a product he doesn't have a lot of involvement in can be really frustrating, but wtf?
He is referring to Tails being able to carry Sonic underwater, not that Tails can swim alone. As previously stated in this topic: http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=27501&view=findpost&p=665592
I care more for the music leak/rip than the game itself. (Although I will most likely be disappointed.)
Wow. Itchy trigger fingers can't wait to take a pop at Ken. I don't envy the man. EDIT: Though, why does Sega (by virtue of what Ken is saying) seem to think that XBLA games can be throwaway games? "It's not a boxed title, don't expect boxed title quality" he says. Fuck that, it's a game. Make it the best it can be or don't make it at all. Why is that hard to understand? Furthermore, I don't understand why proper Sonic-esque physics requires any more development time than what they've done. There are atleast a dozen people around here that can crank out a passable approximation of a Sonic engine in about 30 minutes, and half of them can do it with a programming language. I'm not complaining about the lack of Genesis perfect physics. Just questioning the logic Ken seems to be working on.
He probably has one of the worst jobs at SEGA. Not only does he have to defend projects he has little involvement in, but he has to deal with a very angry fanbase that's unnecessarily harsh at him. I mean don't get me wrong, he's said some pretty stupid remarks that deserved to be laughed at, but some of these people are practically blaming him for Sonic 4's state and have said some pretty nasty things to him. Then to make matters worse, he's stuck defending Sonic 4 of all games while Aaron Webber gets to defend and promote games like Sonic Generations. Aaron Webber definitely deserved his promotion and is certainly much better at his job compared to Ken, but I can't help but feel sorry for Ken even though he sometimes says some pretty stupid statements. Edit- I'm not trying to insult the man with my remarks about Aaron being a better employee, but Ken has said a lot of dumb PR things while Aaron pretty much never gets criticized because he doesn't say stupid shit (as far as I know).
He's moderately lucky that most people don't seem to be noticing that, considering he's employed by Sega, Sega approves of everything he says, and thus it can be inferred that Sega's opinions on matters are exactly what he's telling us. If they did, then it'd be Sega themselves getting lambasted. Ken taking most of the heat and expectations is practically a godsend for Sega.
Ken is only human like the rest of us. I for one don't have a beef with him because it is the likes of DIMPS that ruin it for us all and he has to do his job of selling their games to the public. It's not a job I would like to do if you don't have any say in the quality of the product.
I don't have a problem with him either. But like I said, since he's the PR guy hired by Sega, what he's saying can be inferred to be what Sega would say themselves, and what he's saying is troubling. A game's quality should not be decided based on whether it's boxed or not. Especially when most of the framework for the damn game is readily available, and easy, so easy, to replicate.
I understand that many of you, the players, are worried and or concerned about what Episode II may or may not be. I noticed a few misunderstandings—to the point of boycotting the game prior to release, even—therefore I would like to put some of these worries at rest. This is the first and only time I'll make a post in the Sonic 4: Episode II topic, prior to the actual release of the game. I believe a little background will help illuminating my point. Speaking honestly, Episode I was the most displeasing Sonic game I've ever touched to date. But that was only because I've set high expectations for it; because it gone by the alias Sonic the Hedgehog 4™, it definitely didn't meet my standards. As it was, it simply didn't meet the design choices of what I envisioned an actual Sonic the Hedgehog 4™ to be like. I've voiced many, many times before: had it being called anything else but Sonic the Hedgehog 4™, I wouldn't have minded it existence, just as much as I am indifferent to Sonic Labyrinth's existence. Not only I did not buy Episode I, but I also cursed the very prospect of developing yet another installment of this to-be short series. When I first heard it was an actual tangible project, I cringed. But I was quite at ease on the possibility of an Episode III not seeing the light of the day at all. Fast forward to the present time. I actually hope for an Episode III. It would be wise to listen to representatives such as Ken Balough about Episode II. Even more wiser to actually trust him, since he knows what he is talking about. Episode II, indeed, uses a new graphics engine and boasts a new, different physics engine. The physics are indeed different to the point that the game doesn't even feel like Episode I. Now, my main concern with Episode I was it's physics (or lack thereof). The basics principles of physics in Episode II had a major overhaul, but, of course, they are nowhere near 1:1 with the Genesis Sonic game's physics. In Episode II, Sonic doesn't uncurl when rolling off of a ledge. Sonic doesn't stick to walls and or ceiling; he falls when his speed reach a slow threshold instead. Rolling is less efficient than running alone, but it behaves as expected: rolling accelerates when going down and decelerates when going up. Of course, the game still has a few design choices that I personally don't quite appreciate, like the walk-in springs, but at the end of the day, these design decisions were deliberated. But this, summed with the overall improvements made to the game, makes Episode II a Sonic game to stand on it's own. That being said, I will actually purchase both versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode II! I've been in pretty good terms with SEGA lately, and I believed that this subject deserved a little clarification. For the most perfectionists, I believe that Mr. Balough's statements, in an attempt to ease some of the aforementioned players' worries, have been misunderstood by the community, simply because of the bad stigma that Episode I's development set. He has been passing as much feedback as possible during the development. When he says that he knows they were trying to get those physics aspects fixed and that he knew they were being looked at, I'm fairly positive that he meant that those aspect have been given feedback since far back in the past, since the begin of the development cycle of Episode II, and not a last-minute feedback as many people somehow interpreted, and the fact that he doesn't have much involvement in the actual software programming and development process made him re-check if the mentioned aspects were even an issue anymore, which is completely understandable in a quality assuring standpoint. I wish these words to be of confort to the most concerned players. *gasp* Shock and horror! *gasp* Spoiler Preemptive strike: for those who didn't get it, check the intros for Launch Base Zone Act 1 and Sandopolis Zone Act 1; Sonic is burried both through snow and sand!
Well SEGA, then maybe you shouldn't have called the game Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and then promptly state the game would be directed toward the hardcore classic fans. If the fans can make games identical to the originals, there is no reason SEGA can't do the same thing. Stating the game would "break" is downright laughable too, now they're just purposely dodging their own fuck ups.
@Endri: Did they fix the momentum? But regardless this sounds promising. Glad I could hear this from someone not spouting out PR statements. Oh and what about the music.
Perhaps he meant the level design they already set up wouldn't work with the genesis physics, and would thus break the game. Which is still a serious problem itself...
It's hard to trust Ken's word after last time but I'll take yours because I know your anal over physics. Can you clarify if these issues have been sorted because falling vertically suddenly is the biggest peeve I have with Episode 1? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nDRsjiXiMo
Ken. Just quit your fucking job. Please. This game isn't your problem. Go and have a cup of Joe. Give the company the bird. Go see the world. Start a stand up routine. Just leave Sega to their failures so that the ignorant of us won't lambaste your undeserving self. You'll be doing all of us a favour. I cannot stress this enough. Did you seriously think I was angry at Ken? No. But I'm disappointed that he lets everyone give him all the shit when someone who actually worked on the game should. In fact, that person should speak instead of Ken. I guess the checks he gets justify all the shit he goes through. I wouldn't have any of it.
Glad we have people like Endri and Indigo Rush to calm us bunch of Retards down. I hope we can get someone out there to an expo or event soon so we can get a final awnser as to how this game will play.
